By Henrylito D. Tacio
“By any name, these fascinating insects are formidable predators.” — National Geographic on the praying mantis
The mantises are among the most interesting and beneficial insects ever known. Although potentially lethal to other insects and spiders, they pose little threat to people. As a matter of fact, they have been a source of relief for those wanting to control destructive insects in their gardens and farms.
A mantis will sit motionless for hours on end in a posture like that of a person praying. It waits, however, not for inspiration but for food. Its distinctive manner of satisfying its appetite has long fascinated me no end. In fact, ancient cultures regarded this insect with superstitious awe, for the word “mantis” is derived from the Greek for “prophet” or “seer.”
These insects are found throughout the country. They belong to the family Mantidae in the order Orthoptera, which also includes crickets (a favorite of the Philippine tarsier), grasshoppers, and cockroaches. All insects in this order are similar in that they have a first pair of wings that are straight and narrow and a second pair which fold and open like a fan.
Mantises are large insects, usually growing to a length of one to five inches. Their tough outer skeletons are green or brown, which enables them to blend into surrounding foliage as they await their prey. A heart-shaped head at the front of the slender elongated body seems disproportionately small and can be swiveled. Such contortions earn the mantis its reputation as “the only insect that can look over its shoulder.”
If you are a keen observer, you will notice that a mantis’ front legs are extremely long and powerfully muscled. When not in use, they are folded in a manner similar to the position of human arms at prayer, which undoubtedly accounts for the name of the best-known species: Mantis religiosa, the praying mantis.
The middle and lower sections of the front legs fold against each other, and the facing surfaces have extremely sharp and sturdy spines. These projections are arranged so that they interlock, like the teeth of a zipper. When a victim wanders within range of a waiting mantis, the insect flicks out its front legs with astonishing speed to spike the prey. As its legs retract, the spines sink deeper, securing the mantis’ grip. No wonder, this insect is called as “the preying mantis” in Europe.
Reproduction among the mantises is almost as eye-catching as their food-procuring habits. According to Bruce Kauffman, forest pest specialist with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry in Nashville, most species reproduce through fertilized eggs.
Writes Kauffman: “Immediately following copulation, a singular and grisly mating ritual occurs: the female in many mantis species devours the male. One observer watched a female mantis eat the male with which she had just copulated. In rapid succession, she ate seven other suitors as well. Male mantis, stronger and more capable fliers than the females, could easily avoid their mate’s grasp, but they seem resigned to their fate as post-mating feasts.”
When you find an egg case, try to open it and you would see that it consists of three separate parts. Underneath, and nearest the supporting surface, are rows of five to ten eggs lined up across the axis of the case. On both sides of the eggs and forming the bulk of the case is a tough, frothy material uniformly laid down. Right down the center of the case is another distinct covering that is a series of overlapping scales. This has been called the “zone of issue,” for this material is constructed to allow the young mantis an easy way to break out of the case.
The female mantis lays down all of this marvelous structure continuously, rather than in stages, which says a lot for the complexity of her egg-laying organs. The material around the eggs has air frothed into it by whipping actions of appendages on her abdomen. The material is soft and sticky at first but soon dries to become hard, stiff, and water-repellant.
After several months, it is difficult to slash the case, even with a razor. Depositing the eggs usually takes the female mantis about two hours. Afterwards, she goes in search of food, despite having eaten her mate a short time before. A female may make up to 15 or more egg cases, Kauffman reports.
The mantises are voracious eaters with a digestive system that seems capable of handling virtually anything without apparent ill effects. Some captive mantises have thrived on corned beef and hamburgers, others have gnawed paint; still others have eaten dead insects preserved in alcohol solutions.
However, they prefer to prey upon moths, crickets, grasshoppers, flies, and caterpillars. “They will also eat others of their own kind,” says the National Geographic. “The most famous example of this is the notorious mating behavior of the adult female, who sometimes eats her mate just after — or even during — mating. Yet this behavior seems not to deter males from reproduction.”
Large species of this insect have been reported to have attack frogs, mice — and even snakes. “So fearless are mantises in approaching possible prey that they have been known to spar with household pets,” Kauffman notes. When they are taken out of their natural camouflaged habitat, they are readily eaten by birds.
If grasped by the back legs, they may escape by amputating the imprisoned leg. Some species scares away enemies by raising its wings and making a noise like the hiss of a snake, by rubbing the rear part of its body. The mantis kills its prey by biting through the back of the neck to sever the nerve cord.
Most mantises are solitary creatures which defend their hunting territories. Trespassing mantises will be challenged to a fight that often lasts until one insect is dead. This instinct probably developed so that each insect would be guaranteed enough food.
Though the mantises are adept aviators, they usually do not chase prey through the air.
The naturalist Gerald Durrell’s autobiography My Family and Other Animals includes an account of a very evenly matched battle between a praying mantis and a gecko.
So, it’s not surprising at all that two martial arts had been separately developed in China with movements and fighting strategies based on those of the praying mantis. As one of these arts was developed in northern China, and the other in southern parts, the arts are now referred to (both in English and Chinese) as “Northern Praying Mantis” and “Southern Praying Mantis.” Both martial arts are very popular in China, and have also been imported to the West in recent decades.
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