home Cosmetics The praying mantis is an insect with character. Are praying mantises dangerous? What do they eat? Is the praying mantis dangerous for humans? What exactly might be the threat? How dangerous is the Crimean praying mantis?

The praying mantis is an insect with character. Are praying mantises dangerous? What do they eat? Is the praying mantis dangerous for humans? What exactly might be the threat? How dangerous is the Crimean praying mantis?

The praying mantis is found all over the world, and there are more than 2,000 species of these insects.

Most people are afraid of them because they move strangely and look scary. But the bite of a praying mantis is not terrible for humans. Their mouths are too small to bite a human, but with ease, a female praying mantis can eat the head of her mate.

The reason there are rumors is that they can “bite” because of the hair on their legs. When they walk, they lightly rub against the skin, a person feels it like tiny bites.

These are predatory insects that use their powerful front legs to catch prey, grab and hold small animals.

While smaller species primarily feed on insects and other invertebrates, very large species will occasionally prey on small vertebrates such as frogs and lizards.

origin of name

The name "mantis" comes from the posture they hold their front legs as if they are praying. Most species are green or brown in color so they can blend in with leaves and foliage, which allows them to patiently stalk insects such as flies and grasshoppers.

When the praying mantis is threatened by anything, it stands high, stretches out its front legs and wings like a fan, and opens its mouth wide. This defensive stance is used to appear larger so as to intimidate the opponent.

However, some species have bright colors, patterns on the hind wings and the inner surfaces of the front legs for the same purpose. If pursuit from an intruder persists, the mantis may strike with its front legs, attempt to pinch, or bite.

The strikes are as fast as the blink of an eye, after which he will slowly devour the unfortunate victim slowly with his ultra sharp jaws.

They do not bite people on purpose, do not damage home furnishings, and do not spread diseases. However, touching their spiny forelimbs can feel like a bite.

Praying mantises are beneficial insects. Are eating different kinds other insects that are harmful to humans.

Is a mantis bite dangerous?

Although this almost never happens, a praying mantis may grab your finger and bite you.

There are two species of praying mantises in Crimea. The common praying mantis is the largest of them. The length of the male reaches 40-50 cm, the female mantis is even larger: from 48 to 75 cm. The color of this insect can vary from light green to brown. The saturation and tonality of the shade depends on what vegetation the mantis feeds in the place where it lives.

Does the Crimean mantis bite?

The question that worries a person who has met a praying mantis is the following: why is a praying mantis dangerous? Does it bite or not, and if so, is its bite poisonous?

So, the praying mantis bites. This is due to his constant feeling of hunger. The insect is in continuous search for food. This is a predator that attacks its prey unexpectedly, lying in wait for it in ambush. The peculiarity of the praying mantis is its head, which can rotate 180 degrees.

When attacking a victim, the praying mantis covers it with its paws. A resourceful predator spends only a split second on an attack, which is why the victim has no opportunity to avoid the attack. This applies to insects, but what about humans?

Is praying mantis vinegar dangerous for humans?

The belief that praying mantises bite is due to the aggressive behavior of these insects. They are indeed very warlike and love to fight for any reason or without it at all. Just like the black widow female Crimean mantis eats her partner after mating. She can do this, because she is much larger than the male.

On a note: Another quality of the praying mantis is its courage. It can attack not only insects, but also rodents and even small birds. By the way, in a battle, it is these six-legged animals that often win.

Is the praying mantis dangerous to humans? The question is complex. He is quite capable of biting through the skin of a child. A praying mantis can bite through the delicate skin of an adult in the face and neck area. You can see what tenacious legs with spikes he has in this video:

Precautionary measures

As mentioned above, the praying mantis will not attack you first unless you disturb it. Never try to catch an insect unless you know how to do it correctly. To catch a six-legged fish without health consequences, you need to have excellent coordination and knowledge of how to do it correctly. The praying mantis will defend itself with all its might, trying to bite and scratch its opponent with its sharp claws.

Warn your children not to touch the praying mantis because it bites painfully and can cause injury.
When going for a walk in nature, look around the area. The praying mantis never attacks a person first, but it can begin to defend itself in case of danger.
If you are bitten by a praying mantis, you do not need to take any special action. Just treat the area with any antiseptic. Fortunately, praying mantises are not poisonous and when they bite, they do not inject their poison into the skin.

The Crimean mantis is not just an insect, it is a representative of its genus, an adornment of nature in which it performs its function.

This is a predatory and voracious insect. The colors of praying mantises are very different with all sorts of shades; they can be green, brown or yellowish. But this is just a disguise. Mantises have wings, but they practically do not use them. Mantises have been known to mankind since ancient times.

What does a praying mantis eat?

Seeing prey, the mantis quickly goes on the offensive; thanks to its excellent vision, it does not remain hungry, and besides, it the only insect, whose head rotates one hundred and eighty degrees. The main diet of this predator is flies and other small insects. However, thanks to its formidable weapon - front legs with razor-sharp spines, powerful jaws and aggressive disposition, the praying mantis can attack a frog, lizard and even a small snake, despite the difference in weight categories, it emerges victorious in these terrible fights. Usually, after lunch, there is nothing left of the prey. Proof of predation and greed is that they attack poisonous and toxic insects. For example, it costs them nothing to deal with a poisonous spider such as a black widow; they can eat a toxic ladybug or a formidable wasp alive.

Mantises in ancient Egypt

Even in ancient Egypt This huge insect left its mark in the form of an image in the tomb of Ramesses II, who ruled Egypt three thousand years ago. Religious Egyptians even mummified them. These insects had the right to their sarcophagus and to afterlife. In 1929, archaeologists opened such a sarcophagus, but the mantis mummy very quickly disintegrated and only photographs remained of it. Some tribes in Africa still believe in the god Mantis. The Chinese, watching the praying mantis, came up with the style of martial wushu,

When did praying mantises appear?

Praying mantises appeared many millions of years ago. Thanks to amber with frozen bodies of insects, it is clear that praying mantises have practically not changed their somewhat alien appearance for fifty million years.

Types of praying mantises

There are more than two thousand species of mantises, one of the most interesting can be called the “orchid mantis”; it lives and hunts in the orchid flower, and even looking closely it is difficult to make out where the flower ends and the insect begins; there is also the “Devil’s Flower” mantis, “Devil’s Flower”, “Spiky Flower” ", other species camouflage themselves under fallen leaves, grass, tree branches - they are all unsurpassed masters of camouflage.

Are praying mantises dangerous to humans?

Praying mantises do not pose a danger to humans. Although, looking at the pose of the praying mantis, many do not even realize how terrible and merciless a predator it is. People use it in the fight against harmful insects; they are even kept in homes and gardens. And in Central Asia praying mantises are kept to fight scorpions.

How are praying mantises kept at home?

Keeping them in terrariums is quite troublesome. It is necessary to maintain a temperature regime of 28 to 40 degrees, depending on the type of insect. You also need to monitor the humidity. In order for the praying mantis to feel good, the terrarium must be equipped with driftwood and branches. You only need to feed them live insects (they won’t eat dead ones); you shouldn’t catch food for them on the street; it’s better to buy them at a pet store. Keeping two or more mantises in one terrarium is not recommended. Mantis like pet, will be a very original gift for lovers of the unusual and extravagant.

Do praying mantises bite?
A freckled little fellow with a pink bow on the top of her head asks me.
And here comes a question that takes second place in terms of frequency of occurrence among the inquisitive population of the city on the Neva. However, I don’t think the reason is this river. In other places, they ask the same thing.
Of course, when asking me whether praying mantises bite, people wanted to know, “Is it possible to pick up a praying mantis?” People wanted to get to know these almost fairy-tale creatures. Get to know each other better than just look...
But it is also impossible to give a simple answer to this question.
It depends on how you take it. And which mantis to take, and at what period of development.
First, if you want to handle a praying mantis, keep in mind that this is stressful for him. Any capture of the praying mantis's body will result in damage to the sensitive hairs-sensilla, which are the sensory organs of this animal. The body of the praying mantis, like other insects, consists of three main sections - the head, thorax and abdomen. In mantises, these sections are connected to each other in such a way that the insect can turn to “face” you without turning at all using its legs. The chest itself, which also consists of three sections in insects, is articulated movably. We are talking about the articulation of the elongated anterior and short, mid-chest. The mantis' head is generally so flexible that it can rotate it 180 degrees. And therefore, it will not be possible to pick up a praying mantis, like, for example, a beetle, by grasping the elytra with your fingers. When frightened, the mantis will unfold its prothorax and “tug” your hand with its trap legs. It won’t be able to cause any significant damage, but most likely you will be afraid that the praying mantis may end up falling on earth's surface. There is another way to communicate with this animal. Try just placing the praying mantis on your hand without trying to fix it with your fingers. Place your palm and let the praying mantis climb onto it. The animal, if you do not try to deprive it of its freedom, quickly calms down and you can communicate with it. Adult empusas and some other mantises, which in nature mimic leaves and branches of plants, react calmly when placed on the hand. The females of these insects will not try to escape or fly away. The larvae of all mantises are quite nervous; you should not touch them at all. They are more mobile than adults (adults). They can jump and are easy to lose in a room, especially on the street. They are small size. You can also place praying mantises from the family on your hand common mantises(Mantidae), but among them there are very nervous individuals. You should not handle adult female tree mantises, at least if you do not have sufficient experience in keeping these animals. The female tree mantis, after she begins to fatten up in preparation for egg-laying, is constantly hungry and may try to lightly chew your finger, which smells delicious. However, such behavior is rather an exception to the rule than the rule.
It is also interesting to communicate with mantises because eye contact with these insects is possible. You will immediately feel when this creature is looking at you. This has been tested by many people and always causes a feeling of surprise. Well, be it a “higher” animal. Cat or dog. But it's an insect! But how he looks! In this gaze of the praying mantis, you can physically feel that he, too, is showing us, clearly not only gastronomic interest.
Mantises, especially empusas, are very sociable. We humans don’t think much about the fact that when communicating with each other, we use not one, but several languages at the same time. In addition to the voice, gestures, facial expressions, postures and this is only on the surface. Living in my cage as a group, the empusas actively communicate and also have more than one way of communication. Of course, they cannot communicate by voice. The only sound that a praying mantis can make intentionally is a rustling sound using its wings. In addition to the language of smells, common in the world of insects, my charges used the language of vibrations and postures. Mantises are masters of poses. This was noticed by all the animal photographers who dealt with them. They can dance, move, and transmit information. This “body conversation” is indeed similar, if not to dance, then to pantomime.
The violin mantis received the nickname “dancing mantis” for good reason. His arsenal includes squats, abdominal and chest movements. And simple swaying from side to side apparently means something like our “Hello.” We also wave our hand as a sign of greeting, shaking our palm from side to side.
But the forelimbs, unlike us, as I noticed, adult empusas and other mantises do not use for greetings, but only for warning and threat. This could be: false attacks, which means go away. And those placed wide apart mean (“the pose of a boastful fisherman,” as I call it, “and yesterday I caught such a fish”) - “I’m big and strong, you can’t handle me, Better go your own way." As a last resort, if that doesn't work, there might be a kick with the back of the front legs or even a kick with the spikes without attempting a tackle. If the mantis feels its physical superiority, then instead of a threatening pose, it can immediately take a fighting stance, preparing for a real battle to the death. The very pose of threat in mantises precisely means that the mantis is not at all ready for a fight and its only hope is that it will still be left alone if it manages to scare the enemy with its open wings and bright spots.
Mantises, as predatory animals, have a big problem that is associated with the peculiarities of their vision and behavior. There are situations when two praying mantises must come to an agreement. This situation occurs when an adult female praying mantis is visited by a male. What if praying mantises belong to a group that categorically does not accept or tolerate any presence of individuals of its own species? After all, the female is stronger than the male and usually sees in him only her lunch or dinner. The male, as a rule, can determine whether the female is ready to accept him as a “wife” or whether she is aggressive. More than once I have had the opportunity to observe how a pair of praying mantises become acquainted. Immediately after the male and female common tree mantis found themselves in the same cage, both animals, having discovered the presence of each other, froze. After this, a strange staring game began. All the world, for this couple, ceased to exist. I deliberately tried to disrupt this idyll by slipping the praying mantises a fly, a cricket, or a cockroach. All in vain. Then I tried to just push the male and female slightly. In general, no reaction! Once, I even tried to forcibly separate the male from the female at that moment. However, the male tried to actively resist this. It looked very strange, because I was used to the fact that males of real mantises are shy and not aggressive at all, let alone females.
I had the impression that some kind of “conversation” was going on between the male and female, which occupied their entire attention. The antennas were directed towards each other and vibrated intensely, with high frequency. Such “conversations” varied in length. Especially “chatty” couples could remain in a stupor for up to three and a half hours. The end of the negotiations was indicated by a certain behavior of the female. She either began to creep up to the male, slowly and carefully rearranging her walking legs. She moved slowly. At a speed of only a few centimeters per minute. But the male reacted to this behavior immediately. He turned around and moved as far as possible from his would-be bride. It was obvious to him that there would be no wedding. In the cage, the male was doomed; if he or the female, in this case, was not removed, the death of the gentleman was inevitable. The female will eventually catch him in the limited space of the cage and eat him. In another case, when the negotiations were successful, the female simply indifferently turned away from the male, letting him know that she was allowing herself to be approached. And then the male, being very careful and trying to stay behind the female, began to approach her. From a distance of 10-15 centimeters, the groom usually made a jump and, using his wings, landed on the back of the female. Here, for the male, the most dangerous and crucial moment began. After all, the chosen one could change her mind about marrying him. Such cases also happened. I was able to see an interesting detail. If the female suddenly began to make attempts to throw off the male, he would hold on tightly to her wings with his walking legs, and then, with the claws of his forelimbs, would rhythmically tap something on the elytra of his friend. After which, she calmed down. This, in fact, was where communication ended for these animals.
The fact that insects can transmit information and receive it using a special alphabet implemented using antennas has been known for a long time. But man has never been able to decipher this language. Even in such the most studied group of insects as the Hymenoptera (this includes bees, wasps, bumblebees, ants). And yet, some of the movements that my charges made with the help of antennas were intuitive. If the antennae are thrown back, this means that the mantis is scared and is about to attack. If the antennae are pointed forward and motionless, this means that the mantis is studying the situation in the hope of detecting prey. When the mantis is confused and does not know how to feel about what is happening, it lowers its antennae low in front of itself, crossing them with each other. It seems at this moment that the praying mantis simply crossed himself...
But the larvae of praying mantises, nymphs*, have their own characteristics social behavior.
* - It was agreed upon to call them this, like the larvae of all other insects with incomplete metamorphosis (they lack the pupal phase, the prepupa immediately moults into an adult).
Having come face to face with their peers, they often organize a real sports competition for the right to occupy a microstation, be it a stem, a section of bark or a leaf. The larvae, standing opposite each other, first begin to do strange dance steps with their front legs, and then move on to real modern dances. Remaining completely motionless, with their heads bowed low, they make successive circular movements with their combat legs - left-right, left-right. The limbs themselves tremble and vibrate. Moreover, the frequency of vibration increases over time. The losing individual runs away. I would venture to suggest that the winner is the one who can demonstrate the highest frequency and, therefore, the highest speed of muscle reaction. The loser, without further objection, leaves the disputed area. This is only at the human Olympiad, second place is an honor, in the life of nature, there is no second place.

Not everyone knows that praying mantises are quite dangerous predatory insects. These fragile-looking creatures often attack not only their own kind, but also animals whose size exceeds their own.
Praying mantises attack from ambush with lightning speed and dig into their prey with their front paws. Their tenacious limbs often contain not only insects, but also frogs, lizards, small birds and rodents.
The praying mantis in the photo is feasting on a lizard.
A butterfly in the strong embrace of a predator. Bright color ladybug serves as a warning to birds and insects about its inedibility and toxicity. But this doesn’t stop the praying mantis. Wasps are also included in the diet of the voracious predator. Praying mantises even feed on these poisonous spiders, How black Widow and a red spider.
A predatory insect can carry out for a long time in ambush, waiting for a new victim. A giant Asian mantis eats a grasshopper.
The predator does not disdain tiny aphids.
Mantises first rip off the heads of their victims and then begin to eat them.
Praying mantises are excellent at camouflaging themselves under the plants around them. The insect in the photo successfully imitated an orchid flower, and therefore became the happy owner of two flies at once.
Grasshoppers are one of the most common “delicacies” in the predator’s diet. Mantises are unsurpassed masters of mimicry. A headless grasshopper in the tenacious paws of a predatory insect. A voracious predator poses for the camera.