Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 20 of 20

Thread: What you learned from observing a real mantis

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    Another mantis lesson:

    Invade en masse. Numbers count.

    WEIRD NEWS 01/09/2019 12:52 pm ET Updated 4 days ago
    Over 100 Praying Mantises Take Over Home After Woman Buys Infested Christmas Tree
    Yes, Virginia, there are praying mantises in that Christmas tree.
    By David Moy

    Bah! Humbug! A Virginia woman’s Christmas tree left her a gift that keeps on giving ― but not in a good way.

    Springfield veterinarian Molly Kreuze is bugged that more than 100 praying mantises have infested her home after hatching from an egg case hidden in her Christmas tree.

    “Crawling on the walls, crawling on the ceilings. Just kind of moving,” she griped to DC station WJLA TV.

    It’s possible the mantises are now praying in her bedroom, but that’s a scenario she doesn’t want to consider.

    “I don’t want to think about that. It’s possible, but I don’t want to know,” she said, according to ABC News.

    Although some people might simply vacuum up the bugs, Kreuze is trying to avoid that, preferring to scoop them up with an envelope and store them in a shoe box.

    She is feeding fruit flies to her unwanted holiday guests while she tries to find them new homes.

    “In my googling, I discovered people really like praying mantises,” she told WJLA. “They are useful, they eat other bugs, people use them for organic gardening.”

    Still, the infestation has inspired her to get an artificial tree for next Christmas.

    You can see the complete WJLA segment below:
    You have to follow the link for that news vid.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    North Canton, OH
    Posts
    1,848
    A few years back I purchased an ootheca from a science supply store. We watched a few hundred hatch from it. They basically only ate each other and a cricket or two. I finally let them loose in my neighbor's garden and my backyard. They actually were pretty boring and didn't seem too bright. Disappointing!
    Richard A. Tolson
    https://www.patreon.com/mantismastersacademy

    There are two types of Chinese martial artists. Those who can fight and those who should be teaching dance or yoga!

    53 years of training, 43 years of teaching and still aiming for perfection!

    Recovering Forms Junkie! Even my twelve step program has four roads!

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    hijacking this thread...

    In a flailing attempt to keep this subforum alive, I'm going to start posting articles on exotic mantids here. I see those fairly regularly on the newsfeeds. Mantids come in such variety.

    Woman Finds An Incredible Bug Who's Almost Too Beautiful To Be Real
    "I was amazed."

    BY STEPHEN MESSENGER
    PUBLISHED ON 09/27/2019

    The other day, Margaret Neville was strolling through the garden on her farm in South Africa when something remarkable caught her eye.

    There, on a branch in her lavender bush, was an insect unlike any she’d seen before: “I was amazed at first sight,” Neville told The Dodo.

    And it’s easy to see why.


    Margaret Neville

    The beautiful bug almost looked like a delicate glass sculpture. Her wings of white and green were accentuated with an elegant swirl, while the rest of her body was adorned with tiny, purple flower-like structures.

    Neville shared the photo with her friend, Kerri Martinaglia. She was equally impressed.

    “When I saw her, I thought she was an exquisite work of art,” Martinaglia told The Dodo.


    Margaret Neville

    Neville and Martinaglia came to learn that the insect she’d found was aptly called a “Flower Mantis,” a type of praying mantis perfectly suited to camouflaging themselves in floral settings.

    And thanks to that trick, the mantis Neville happened upon was clearly thriving. Before placing her back in the lavender bush, Neville gave her a name: Miss Frilly Pants.

    Here’s video of Miss Frilly Pants in action:
    facebook vid

    “She has spent the entire month of September living on my lavender,” Neville said. “She is still there now.”

    After Martinaglia shared photos of her online, the remarkable mantis has earned plenty of admirers from people stunned to learn such an animal is real. But not all of her new fans are human.

    Recently, Neville spotted Miss Frilly in the company of a suitor:


    Margaret Neville

    Though mantis relationships are notoriously short-lived (as are, in some cases, the males involved in them), with any luck, this one will result in many more Miss Frillys adding their beauty to the world.

    And the prospect of that alone is enough to be grateful for:

    “What a blessing,” Neville said.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Canada!
    Posts
    23,110
    Avoid sex with the wife!

    J/K

    But dang, those mantis ladies are hardcore!
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    glide

    With winged legs, orchid mantis sets gliding record
    Camouflaged like a flower, these predators also have a getaway trick
    28 NOV 202311:30 AM ETBYERIK STOKSTAD

    CHIEN LEE/MINDEN PICTURES

    The orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) looks so much like a flower that you might be tempted to take a sniff. Now there’s another reason it’s exceptional. Researchers will report tomorrow in Current Biology that the insect’s petal-shaped legs allow it to glide 50% to 200% ****her than other invertebrates.

    The orchid mantis (pictured) looks deceptively like the bloom of a moth orchid. In addition to having a pink and white body with just the right patterns, it will sway gently to mimic the effect of wind on the petals. When a prey insect buzzes by to look for nectar, the mantis rapidly strikes. For more than a century, this species and a few relatives have been iconic examples of animal mimicry.

    After noticing that orchid mantises would jump vigorously away when startled, researchers wondered whether their petal-shaped legs might serve not just as camouflage, but also as wings. In profile, the legs are curved like a wing, and in experiments dropping nearly a dozen mantises from a crane, the researchers documented the insects flipping themselves right side up and then gliding for up to 8 meters.

    The escape strategy is most useful for younger mantises; as they mature, they grow wings for powered flights.
    Who bothers to set up an experiment on mantises involving a crane?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •