TIL: Cool Mantis Facts!

in #steemstem6 years ago (edited)

Hello there! Do you remember this little guy from The Mantis Concert post? 

Image by @ruth-girl

This superstar belongs to one of the 2,400 species of Mantises in the world! 

How did they get their name?

Because of their weird body shape! Their big forearms and their upright posture resembling a praying position gave those cute buddies their common name Praying Mantis. [1]

Tell me something juicy about them!

Juicy, huh? Well here are some of the "juicier" facts I read about them today:

#1 Stereo vision

Mantises are able of stereopsis (in Greek: ste-re-os/στέρεος & op-sis/όψις, words for solid and vision). This means each eye perceives one unique image that is then sent to the brain, processed, matched with the image of the other eye and then one final image is produced. How is that helpful? It allows a creature to have depth and 3-dimensional perception of the objects in their environment.

Another cool fact considering their eyes is that each eye is equipped with almost 10,000 ommatidia (tiny photoreceptors), but not all of them have the same function. Those in the center specialize into "examining" potential prey (since they are more acute), whereas the rest are there to "catch" motion so that the insect knows where to turn its head in order to keep a moving target within its field of vision. [1, 3]

#2 This is a pseudopupil

Image by @ruth-girl

Which means that they don't have an actual pupil, but the ommatidia you see "head-on" appear dark because they are the ones absorbing light. The rest of them reflect it (This explains why their "pupil" seems to be following you while you change your viewing angle of a mantis). [1]

#3 They have one ear... on their chest!

Mantises do not have two ears, they only have one and it is located on their chest, somewhere between their mid and hind legs! The ear is split in two halves, which are connected to a single neuron that gets "activated" once either or both "halves" receive signals from their environment. [4]

#4 They are the little girl form the Exorcist (... almost)

They have a neck with such elasticity that allows them to rotate their heads at almost 180° (You do understand how helpful this "feature" is both in hunting and in protecting themselves from predators). [1, 2]

#5 Disgusting (?) cousins

Mantises are related to cockroaches and termites as Wikipedia mentions: "Kristensen (1991) combined the Mantodea with the cockroaches and termites into the order Dictyoptera, suborder Mantodea".  [1, 2]

#6 Cruel predators!

Mantises feed on other, smaller insects (sometimes they turn even on their species), although it's not unusual to see them eat other vertebrates like frogs, lizards or even... birds! Their strong forearms and quick reflexes make them excellent hunters and ruthless as they are, they devour their prey while it's still alive! [1, 2, 3]

Bon apetit!

#7 They are professionals in pest control... or maybe not?

Their diet has rendered them useful to farmers that wish to have mantises as a substitute for pesticides (it is a common organic gardening practice to use insects for pest control). You can even buy Mantis eggs online, just beware of the fact that a hungry mantis won't tell the difference between a pest and a useful insect (like a bee, for example). So, they can do good as much as they can do harm. [1, 2]

#8 They can even eat their partner

Aaah! One of my favorite lines from a Greek series says:

"In my family, darling, we'd never divorce our men. We'd bury them!" (Αξέχαστη Ντένη Μαρκορά!)

I guess Dennie might have been a mantis in a past life of hers, even if she hasn't though, mantises are among the creatures that display a behavior of sexual cannibalism! During intercourse the hungry female will not hesitate to chop her lover's head off and eat it, while he is still ejaculating inside her body. Cruel as it may look, this also helps the male eject more sperm through the intense spasms of his dying body (thus increasing the number of descendants). Although it's a tactic observed mostly in species held in captivity, the exact reason has not yet been clarified. [1, 2]

Mantis sex is a dangerous... sport!

#9 There are martial arts inspired by them

In China two martial arts were inspired by mantises: Northern and Southern Praying Mantis. [1]

How about some Mantis Kung Fu?

#10 In Greek we call them Holy Mother's horses

... and it's a tradition to never kill them (at least that's what my grandmother says)!

Image by @ruth-girl

Do you know any other cool facts about mantises? Or do you have any awesome videos to share? I'd love to see them in the comments below!! 



References

[1] wikipedia.org
[2] thoughtco.com
[3] treehugger.com
[4] askentomologists.com

Thank you so much for your time!

Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!

Sort:  

πω πω παναγιτσα μου....ελεεινα θηλυκα....εχετε δει αρσενικα να τρωνε θηλυκα?.....ποτε !!....μας ξεκληριζουν οι δόλιες θηλυκες.... @trumpman ,φερε το δελφινι σου χανομαστε!!!

Άτιμες κι αχάριστες είμαστε, καλέ! Κι όπως λέει κι ένας φίλος μου:
"Πλάσμα που αιμορραγεί κάθε μήνα και δεν πεθαίνει, δεν είναι να το εμπιστεύεσαι!" :Ρ

Point number 8 contains the most interesting feature )

And creepy!!! :P

The words "to lose one's head from love" make sense )

Ear on the chest? This really got me laughing, Lol. That is so hilarious.
But eating their partners doesn't sound too cool - that's too cruel of mantis.

Amazing facts about this sexy creature.

Nice piece Ruthie

Weird that ear fact, huh??
And what did you think? Only Black Widows eat their men?? Nope! :P

Thanks for coming over Sammy! :D

I know about the black widow. Their venom alone is enough to harm their men :D.
Is mantis venomous?

Nope! They are only hungry... :P

Those are some really gruesome films. There was more tension in the snake contest than in a lot of movies I pay to see. Cruel laws rule nature. Darwin's dismay comes to mind as he contemplated the parasitic wasp.

Oh they are! After a while I thought I was watching some weird fantasy horror film... Smart b*itch that wasp!

Actually I didn't realize there was a wasp clip until you mentioned it. I was just looking at the Darwin quote. Couldn't take my eyes off that wasp--no mercy in nature.

(This explains why their "pupil" seems to be following you while you change your viewing angle of a mantis).

I've always wondered why! And I've leared a new word! Much gratitude to you.

I also grew up hearing that it was bad luck to kill a mantis, particularly a juvenile.

You forgot the most important fact: the short-lived TV show M.A.N.T.I.S.

Aaah, so the tradition is not only Greek, good to know :)

I've never heard of that show...

It was short-lived, but I recall it being fun. At least to a young nerd into comic books.

During intercourse the hungry female will not hesitate to chop her lover's head off and eat it, while he is still ejaculating inside her body.

Just imagine! Just imagine it. I'm sure they'll have loads of celibate males in their species 😂 😂

I guess we found one of the inspirations for Basic Instinct :P

Where I am from, there is a saying that says: "the most powerful poisons come in a small bottle", referring to the fact that small people are usually difficult and have a bad temper. Adapting it to this little animal you can say: "the most dangerous animal is into the little Mantis". The size of his dams is not a problem for him Wow!

Dangerous and very cruel, maybe we are sometimes upset and want to eat our partners, but eat your head during intercourse is the worst ;)

As always friend @ruth-girl, enjoy your post very much. Thanks for sharing.

We have a similar saying "Expensive perfumes come in small bottles" (but this is basically said to make short women feel special)

Cruel creature, it would make an awesome killer in some surreal horror movie scenario I think...

Thanks for taking the time to read @ufv!! :)

You're welcome . I really enjoy it a lot. Thanks to you for sharing

In China two martial arts were inspired by mantises

Who would have thought that? wow, when watching the video the pose the mantis adopts when trying to scare the spider does seem like a Kung Fu pose, so this is indeed truth :P

That was unexpected, to be honest I found it a bit silly to have martial arts inspired by the Mantis moves, but who am I to judge :P

Too fun! Loved your post! Made my eyes go big at the thought of squashing that one in Greece...never mind the bad luck I would have had :)

Thanks!! Well, you got lucky with that little guy...
I hope you didn't have any new problems with the helicopter :)

Hello @ruth-girl

Amazing revelations about Praying Mantis. I am excited to know the reasons behind their name. It so befits them I must confess.

Regards.

@eurogee of @euronation and @steemstem communities

Hello @eurogee and thank you for coming over!!!
Have a beautiful weekend! :D

κουκλάκι ειναι... δε το φοβάσαι;;

Γιατί να το φοβάμαι καλέ; Πανέμορφο και γλυκούλι είναι το σιχαμένο!

xaxaxaaaa.. Αυτό τηγανητό γίνετε;;

Δεν θελω να ξερω! :Ρ

In the wild, they've almost never been shown to eat their partner's heads, and when it does happen, the cameraman is usually being more obtrusive- so, ah, performance anxiety?

Hehe! You think? :P

i had no clue about 2-3. it's really ironic after reading this post the name we have given :P It's like we call the devil god :P

Yeah! They are not as "angelic" as we think :P

Amazing videos, I think they are all of great interest

Hi @ruth-girl!

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