The praying mantis is normal. The praying mantis is an insanely beautiful and dangerous creature.
1. These fascinating insects are formidable predators. The angelic pose of the praying mantis is deceptive. If a bee or fly happens to land within reach, the praying mantis will grab the unfortunate insect with lightning speed. Sharp spikes line the predatory front legs of the praying mantis, allowing him to firmly grasp the prey. Some praying mantises catch and eat lizards, frogs, and even birds. Who said there are no mistakes in the food chain?! Praying mantises are carnivorous insects with a very impressive appetite.
2. The praying mantis has prominent front legs that are bent and fastened together at an angle, as if in a position of prayer. big group these insects are called prayer mantises. Mantis - a genus of praying mantis - praying mantids. The word mantis (from the Greek mantikos) means soothsayer or prophet. These insects really look mysterious, especially when their front legs are entwined, as if in prayer.
3. They have triangular heads worn on long neck, elongated chest. Mantids can turn their heads 180 degrees. No other insect can do this.
4. Yes, the praying mantis has five eyes! Do you think two eyes would be enough? But not for the praying mantis! These species of insects have a five-eyed configuration. Apart from two big eyes, there are three small eyes located in the middle of the head. They use these eyes to detect light, to observe movement, and for deep vision.
I had no idea that praying mantises could be so colorful! Orchid mantis
5. Praying mantises have one ear located on their stomach.
Five eyes and one ear? Mantis are crazy! The auditory organ of the praying mantis is located in the middle of their abdomen, between the last set of legs. Their ear is not like ours - it hears only loud high-pitched sounds, the rest of the sounds are perceived as vibrations.
6. Not all praying mantises have an ear, but only those that, as a rule, do not fly. Mantis species that lose their wings and move about by walking can be easy prey bats! At night the bats feed on any flying insects. In order not to be eaten, the praying mantis suddenly falls to the ground.
7. When praying mantises are born, they go through three stages of development: eggs, nymph and adult. In spring they appear as nymphs. Nymphs look a lot like miniature versions of their parents. The lifespan of a praying mantis is less than one year.
8. There is a praying mantis that looks like an orchid.
This is not just a pink and white insect, but a rather amazing flower-like praying mantis. A species of praying mantis that looks like an orchid is called Orchid mantis with the Latin name Hymenopus coronatus. Seeing is believing
9. Praying mantis doesn't shy away from danger.
The insect is not that big. But in order to avoid the threat, they, while remaining in place, will try to look bigger: raise their wings, stand up, stretch as high as possible. May sway from left to right to appear more intimidating. It works? Actually, yes! Animals that are not particularly interested in eating them consider the praying mantis a slightly suspicious prey. Are they poisonous? In addition, some types of praying mantis have very bright colors.
Praying mantis and baby crocodile - meeting
10. A female praying mantis can have up to 1,000 babies.
After mating, she will produce eggs called ootheca. Each can contain 200 eggs. In total, she can produce 6 of them! Not every species of praying mantis is as productive, some species produce significantly fewer eggs. However, a female praying mantis doesn't need to mate more than once to produce many babies—one drunken mistake can have long-term consequences.
11. Mantis will attack prey that is much larger than them. Most praying mantis species are not easily intimidated, they will go all the way. An amazing feat, considering that the praying mantis has no venom at all. He just needs to hold his prey and start eating it. It is much easier for spiders, as they quickly paralyze their prey with poison. There have been reports of mantis catching hummingbirds, mice, huge spiders, and other equally sized praying mantises. Asian mantises, Chinese mantises, African mantises and Budwit mantises are capable of this tactic. The thinner varieties rely more on camouflage and less on bold attack while hunting. Ghostly mantises take great risks when attacking.
12. Most praying mantises live in the tropics. The approximately 2,000 species of mantids described to date are nearly all found in the tropics. Most often, praying mantises are exotic species. Mantises (Mantodea) represent more than 2400 species in about 430 genera in 15 families. The most big family praying mantis - Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantis are distributed throughout the world in temperate and tropical habitats.
Photographer Igor Sivanouiks /Two beautiful praying mantises
13. Mantids are closely related to cockroaches and termites. Praying mantises, termites and cockroaches are believed to come from a common ancestor. Entomologists group these insects in the superorder Dictyoptera due to their close evolutionary relationship.
14. Mantid eggs overwinter in cool conditions. The female praying mantis lays her eggs on a branch or stem in autumn and then protects them with a styro-like substance she secretes from her body. This forms a protective egg case in which her offspring will develop over the winter. Mantid eggs are easy to spot in winter when leaves fall from shrubs and trees. But if you bring a mantle outeca into your warm home, you'll soon find several hundred small praying mantises.
15. Female mantises sometimes eat their boyfriends. Yes, it's true, in 30% of cases, mantiza women actually kill their sexual partners. In some cases, they decapitate the poor guy even before he ends his relationship. As it turns out, the Mantid male becomes an even better lover when his brain, which controls inhibition, separates from the abdominal ganglion, which controls the actual act of copulation. Most of the cases of sexual killing of mantises occur, scientists believe, not at all because the man is a bad fuck, but because the partner needs protein from the male body, which will later help the eggs develop.
16. Mantids are relatively young, in terms of evolutionary time. The earliest fossil mantids date from Cretaceous Period, between 146-66 million years.
17. Masters of disguise. Usually green or brown, they camouflage well on the plants they live among. Praying mantis lie in ambush and patiently hunt down their prey. Butterflies, crickets, grasshoppers and other insects are usually their unfortunate recipients.
Sources:
Borror and DeLonge "Introduction to the Study of Insects", 7th edition, Charles A. Thringhorn and Norman F. Johnson
Insects: them natural history and Diversity, Stephen A. Marshall
Encyclopedia of Insects, 2nd Edition, edited by Vincent H. Resch and Ring T. Carde
Evolution of Insects by David Grimaldi and Michael S. Engel
Experienced Praying Mantises: Hidden in Mere Sight, by Roberta Bret, Smithsonian Zoo Newsletter, September-October 1997
The Death of Order: A Comprehensive Molecular Phylogenetic Study Confirms Termites Are Eusocial Cockroaches, Dagan Inoard, George Beccaloni and Paul Eggleton. Biol. Lett. June 22, 2007, vol. 3 no. 3 331-335
This is not surprising, because this insect is very aggressive and even attacks its relatives. Even during mating, the female praying mantis has been known to eat the male. In this regard, the question arises, what are the differences between the praying mantis insect, what is dangerous and useful for this representative of arthropods for humans? Does its size matter? Indeed, if we take flies and mosquitoes as an example, it becomes clear that even a tiny creature can cause serious harm to health. So, mosquitoes are distributors of malaria and other serious diseases. Praying mantises are not small by the standards of insects. Different types reach from four to nine centimeters in length! Add to this the ability to disguise and the habits of a predator - there is something to worry about.
Why does the female praying mantis eat the male during mating?
The time of reproduction occurs at praying mantises from August to September. Males go in search of dangerous girlfriends, but predatory insects do not expect family happiness. The female eats the male right during mating, starting from the head. After all, the nerve nodes on the abdomen are responsible for the sexual process. Experts have studied this behavior of praying mantises.
In the early stages of studying the biology of these insects, scientists were of the opinion that the female behaves in such a way as to increase the amount of sperm she receives from the agonizing male praying mantis.
Modern entomologists have come to the conclusion that this version is erroneous. After careful research, it became clear that the female praying mantis devours the male only in order to obtain an additional source of proteins for the development of eggs.
Why is it believed that the female praying mantis necessarily eats the male during mating? This is not always the case. It is known that especially cautious males are able to fulfill their mission and quickly get out of the eyes of a predatory girlfriend.
Can a praying mantis bite a person?
Young praying mantis behave more modestly than adults, do not attack large prey and do not even try to bite a person. Insects do not pose a serious threat, but they can injure with their claws. An adult can easily survive such a nuisance, but small child it is better to protect from a meeting with an aggressive praying mantis. The predator preys even on small birds and mammals, if they had the imprudence to disturb his peace.
Can a praying mantis bite an adult when meeting? Of course, there is such a possibility. However, children tend to explore the world and are more likely to meet dangerous insects. It is better to keep very young children away from this creature in order to prevent the appearance of pain. Don't scare the kids too much with the praying mantis. In the forest or steppe, there are much more dangerous creatures: Poisonous snakes, stinging wasps and infection-carrying rodents.
Benefits of praying mantis
Praying mantises are widely used by gardeners for pest control. Because of their omnivorous nature, they quickly deal with all the inhabitants of the garden or garden, saving plants and vegetables from death. These insects have become true allies of man in the agricultural sector. However, the main advantage of praying mantises is also its disadvantage. The fact is that along with pests, beneficial insects, such as bees, also die in their paws.
The praying mantis insect, why it is dangerous and useful for humans, is its aggressive voracity. It bites fiercely, fighting with all living creatures, it benefits as an entomophage, destroying garden pests. In any case, the insect cannot but attract the attention of both scientists and ordinary people.
praying mantis ( Mantodea) is a special order of insects. In a number of features (the structure of the abdomen, wings, the development of special ootheca capsules for eggs), they are similar to cockroaches - according to these features, they were sometimes even combined into one detachment. But in terms of lifestyle and behavior, praying mantises are not at all similar to cockroaches - they are active predators living alone.
The praying mantis is known for its "prayer posture" with its front legs folded "on the chest". These legs are grasping, with sharp spikes, and open like a penknife. By quickly throwing them forward, the praying mantis deftly captures the prey.
In total, about 2 thousand species of praying mantises are known. Large tropical species are capable of attacking small lizards, birds, frogs. But even an ordinary praying mantis 6 cm in size can kill and eat a 10 cm long lizard in 3 hours and digest it in 6 days. At this time, he is getting fat twice. But the usual food of praying mantises is insects.
Praying mantises have a camouflage color - the color of trees, grass, flowers, sticks, stones, leaves, among which they live. An immobile praying mantis natural environment almost impossible to notice. Only movement can give it away. The praying mantis usually moves very slowly, but in case of obvious danger it is able to crawl away quite quickly - and freeze again in a new place. With a clear attack, this insect behaves differently - it opens its wings, increasing its size, and begins to sway, trying to scare enemies. Row tropical species at the same time, they make sounds - the rustling of wings, the clicking of legs. Some praying mantises have contrasting spots on their wings, which are hidden when at rest. But when the wings spread, these spots, like someone's large eyes, suddenly appear in front of the enemy, frightening him. In addition, the attacked praying mantis throws forward its grasping legs, striving to stab the enemy with its spikes.
Mantis Pseudocreoborta wahlbergi in a menacing stance
Praying mantises are predominantly residents of the tropics or subtropics. Most widely distributed common praying mantis (Mantis religiosa): from South Africa before Central Asia, Caucasus, south middle lane Russia - approximately to the line of Kursk, Bryansk, Orel, Belgorod. But along the northern borders of its distribution, the praying mantis is rare. For example, near Kyiv, we observed it 1-4 times a year, and near Kharkov - even less often, episodically. But already on the Black Sea coast, in the Crimea, in the Caucasus, this is a fairly common insect. There is an ordinary praying mantis in the south of Siberia, in Kazakhstan and in the Far East of Russia. With ships, this species also came to Australia and the USA, and is now found there even in big cities, for example in New York.
We also had unexpected meetings with a praying mantis: either he flew into the window of a house, or he sat on the sidewalk of a city street, at a trolleybus stop. But still, the usual habitat of this insect in the city is close to natural: dense thickets of grass, bushes, trees in parks, botanical gardens.
An ordinary praying mantis has three color forms: green, yellow and brown - the color of the environment where it lives. We met mainly green praying mantises - up to 80% of the meetings. It is possible that the color of this insect also varies according to the areas of distribution, depending on the area in which the colors of the vegetation cover prevail.
You can meet an ordinary praying mantis both in the grass and on the branches of bushes and trees. These insects have well developed wings, but we observed only males flying. They fly especially actively at night, although they can fly from tree to tree during the day. But usually the praying mantis does not seek to move - if there is food, the tree praying mantis can live all his life on one tree or bush, even on one large branch.
The praying mantis has a movable triangular head with developed eyes. He carefully looks around, he is attracted by any slightest movement nearby. Noticing a moving object of a small size, a hungry praying mantis begins to slowly move towards it and, approaching, grabs it with agile legs and eats it. The praying mantis can catch small insects, motionlessly waiting for them in ambush, using its protective coloration. But large prey, equal to or even larger than it in size, for example, an adult locust, the praying mantis actively pursues, crawls towards it openly, tries to jump on its back and grabs it, first of all by the head. Then immediately begins to eat, also from the head.
Stationary objects do not evoke any reaction in the mantis, they only catch moving prey (similar behavior can be seen in many spiders). But the mantis necessarily reacts to a moving object. In experiments, these insects even tried to catch the image of a colored square moving on a white screen.
If a large object that suddenly appears nearby is too large, the praying mantis can show a defensive reaction - then it spreads its wings and throws its legs forward with a special repulsive movement, trying to put forward their sharp ends and spikes. A well-fed, weakened or old praying mantis also repels insects approaching him, which under other conditions would become his prey.
The praying mantis is gluttonous. Larvae eat 5–6 aphids, fruit flies, house flies per day; an adult insect can eat 7–8 cockroaches about a centimeter long in a row, spending about half an hour for each. Having caught a cockroach, the praying mantis begins to gnaw its soft parts, especially the abdomen, at the end - the harder ones, in particular the head. Only wings remain from the cockroach, sometimes pieces of legs, and the praying mantis eats soft insects almost without a trace.
The breeding season of praying mantises in temperate climate extended from August to September. At this time, males begin to migrate in search of females. At the end of the abdomen of praying mantises there are special outgrowths - cerci, they are the organs of smell. In males, the cerci are better developed and, perhaps, help in finding partners.
It is widely believed that the larger and voracious female praying mantis will definitely eat the male when they meet. However, in reality this is not always the case. Noticing the female, the male praying mantis cautiously and very slowly, with frequent long stops, freezes, begins to approach her, swaying slightly. The female at this time can catch prey, eat, clean herself. If she notices the movement of the male and turns her head towards him, he immediately freezes for a long time. This approach and contact can last 5–6 hours. As a rule, the male tries to approach the female from behind, from the back - this is the most successful and safe way for him. But if he approaches from the side, then the female often notices him and attacks. Hungry females are the most aggressive, a well-fed insect reacts sluggishly to moving objects, and this also helps the male to protect itself from attack. Settling down at the back of the female and quickly leaving after the meeting, the male praying mantis often remains alive. So cannibalism among these creatures is not such an obligatory phenomenon, as it seemed before.
When laying eggs, the fertilized female simultaneously secretes a special sticky liquid. Enveloping the eggs and hardening, this liquid forms a capsule - an ootheca, in the middle of which there are 100-300 eggs. Oootheca sticks to plants or stones, it is quite hard, retains inside the moisture necessary for the development of eggs and protects them from negative external influences. Common praying mantis eggs in ootheca can withstand short-term frosts down to -18 °C.
The eggs of praying mantises from the south of central Europe, apparently, need temporary cooling for development - winter diapause. When breeding in captivity, it is enough to keep the praying mantis eggs in the refrigerator for a month at a temperature of 0 ... +3 ° C. But in the tropics, the development of mantis eggs occurs without diapause.
The newborn praying mantis larva has long filaments at the end of the abdomen and many spines pointing backwards on the body. These spines help her crawl out of the ootheca. But the tail threads of the larva are clamped by the edges of the egg capsule - then the larva immediately molts, leaves the old skin and becomes like an adult praying mantis, only small and wingless. It has a protective coloration, but is very mobile compared to adult insects.
At first, the larvae feed on small thrips, aphids, then, as they grow, they switch to fruit flies and larger flies. When kept in captivity, in a limited space, praying mantis larvae actively attack each other. But in nature, they manage to settle before it comes to mutual destruction.
In Europe and Central Asia, praying mantis larvae usually appear in April-May. After about two and a half months, after molting 5 times, they turn into adult insects. After another 10–14 days, males begin to look for females.
An adult insect lives 55–60 days. Males usually die before females - after the breeding season, they become lethargic and stop hunting. The male praying mantis, caught in nature by an adult, died in our captivity by the end of September, and the female in October. Even when creating optimal conditions, with an abundance of food, heat and light, praying mantises die during October, depending on the time of their birth in the spring. That is, the life span of 2 months given to an adult insect is very tough. The old praying mantis has dark brown spots on its body, its bright green color fades. A chemical analysis of the body of an insect during this period reveals the disappearance of vital amino acids in the body, in particular valine, leucine, lysine, tryptophan, methionine, threonine, etc. Adding these amino acids to the food and water for the praying mantis, as well as vitamins A, D, E and a complex of vitamins of group B prolongs his life until the end of December, that is, by 2-3 months compared to the usual period.
In addition to the usual, in the Crimea, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the Southern Volga region, in the south of Siberia, in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, it is found spotted mantis (Iris polysticica). In the south of the steppe belt, you can meet praying mantises from the genus Bolivaria, and in Central Asia - tree praying mantises Hierodula.
empuses (Empusa) are found in the south of Europe, in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, in Central Asia and in the south of Kazakhstan. These praying mantises have a very characteristic appearance: a triangular head with a pointed end and a special outgrowth sticking out in front - in this way they resemble little devils. These pretty large insects(females reach 6.5 cm, males are slightly smaller) are generally similar to the common praying mantis, but slenderer, with a thinner abdomen. Empuse males have developed feathery antennae, which indicates a good perception of odors. Species of this genus are very active at night. Their larvae appear in the summer and are noticeably larger than the larvae of other praying mantises, so they immediately begin to feed on small flies (rather than thrips and aphids), and quickly switch to feeding on grasshoppers and butterflies. Unlike a number of other praying mantises, in empusas, not eggs in the ooteca hibernate, but already grown larvae and even adults.
In addition to praying mantises living on plants, desert species are also found in Central Asia. They are small in size, keep on sand, stones and move quickly in search of prey. Their movements are similar to ants. These are, for example, rivetins ( Rivetina). Praying mantises-crumbs from the genus Armen ( Armena) are about 1.5 cm in size and are found not only in deserts, but also in the mountains, at an altitude of up to 2.7 km, where they hide under stones. Desert and mountain views praying mantises also have a corresponding gray inconspicuous color.
To a certain extent, praying mantises, especially their larvae, are useful insects, because. destroy pests, especially on fruit trees, berry bushes. So, the Central Asian tree praying mantis during its development eats about 25 g of different insects. However, some beneficial species e.g. bees, riders. Attempts to use praying mantises for agricultural pest control, their mass breeding and resettlement for these purposes have not yet yielded results. But these insects still deserve careful treatment in their habitats.
AT last years in a number of places, praying mantises become rare, in particular in the Crimea - empuses, spotted-winged praying mantises, and bolivarians. A possible reason for this is the destruction of the habitats of these insects, dense steppe vegetation, and the plowing of steppe virgin lands. But while maintaining small areas of dense herbs - micro-reserves for insects and limiting the use of pesticides, mantises can also be preserved. It is especially desirable to do this on the northern outskirts of their range, in Russia, where praying mantises are already quite rare.
Literature
Gornostaev G.N. Insects of the USSR. – M.: Thought, 1970.
Life of animals. T. 3. Invertebrates. - M .: Education, 1969.
Plavilshchikov N.N. Insect identifier. - M .: Education, 1957.
Chervona Book of Ukraine (Tvarinny retinue) / Ed. MM. Shcherbak. - Kyiv: Ukrainian Encyclopedia, 1994.
- Type - Arthropods
- Class - Insects
- Squad - Cockroaches
- Suborder - Mantis (Mantodea)
The famous Swedish scientist and traveler Carl Linnaeus gave the mantis a scientific name: Mantis religiosa. Mantis in Greek means "prophet", "priest"; religiosa - religious. Why did the praying mantis get such a strange name? Look at the photo: the praying mantis looks like a praying mantis. He stands only on four legs out of six, and keeps his forelimbs folded in front of his muzzle, as if he is praying to the Lord.
An engraving by the famous Dutch artist Maurits Escher depicts a praying mantis praying for the remission of the sins of a deceased religious dignitary. The praying mantis really looks like a person: he holds food in his “hands”, washes himself after a meal, can turn around (the only one of all insects!) And stare sharply, just like a person.
But the praying mantis is not at all as pious as it might seem. In fact, a predatory insect is waiting in ambush for a careless victim in order to grab it with a lightning movement.
Mantis is a typical predator
The praying mantis is a typical example of predators lying in wait, or, in other words, an "ambush". For hours he can sit quietly in a secluded place, waiting for prey. Camouflage coloring allows the praying mantis to merge with the vegetation, and even the shape of the body resembles part of the plant. Although it lives among an abundance of greenery, it does not accept plant food. Moreover, the carnivorous insect eats its prey exclusively alive.
Praying mantises are merciless not only to other insects smaller than them in size, which for them are nothing more than Tasty dinner but also to their relatives. This must be known to the one who keeps this aggressive creature as pet. Two or more praying mantises are unlikely to get along together, especially if one is larger than the other in size.
In the Middle Ages in Japan, the praying mantis was considered a symbol of courage and cruelty, and even the image of an insect was applied to the handles. samurai swords. And one of the positions in kung fu repeats the pose of a praying mantis, ready for battle. In addition, in China, they believed that the praying mantis had healing powers and could cure certain diseases. The ancient Greeks considered the praying mantis a messenger of spring and a weather forecaster, they called him a "prophet" and "soothsayer". And in some European countries even today, praying mantises are credited with some sort of magical power. Perhaps this creature, which is the object of superstition, will arouse your interest and you will want to keep it as yours?
Mantises: appearance and structural features
Praying mantises are large insects, and the females are much larger than the males. There are about two thousand species of praying mantis in the world. The common praying mantis (lat. Mantis religiosa) is about 6 cm long. The largest of the praying mantis, the Chinese praying mantis, reaches a length of 15 cm.
The body of praying mantises is elongated, the head is almost triangular, mobile. Large, round, bulging eyes that point slightly forward and down give it a much wider field of vision than a human. And thanks to the extremely flexible neck, the praying mantis can turn its head so that it will notice any creature approaching it from behind. The mouth is well developed and equipped with biting jaws or a sucking proboscis.
Among praying mantises there are both winged and wingless ones. In winged insects, both pairs of wings are well developed. The forewings are narrower than the hindwings and more dense. Wide membranous hindwings are folded in a fan when at rest and covered with elytra. I must say that the wings for their intended purpose, i.e. for flight, the praying mantis rarely uses. Rather, he needs them to intimidate prey, as well as enemies.
The body structure of the praying mantis indicates that the insect is well adapted to predatory image life. The abdomen is ten-segmented, soft and flattened, with numerous long outgrowths - cerci (they serve as organs of smell). The long thigh is seated along the lower edge with three rows of strong spikes. The lower leg also has 3 rows of pronounced spines along the lower edge. The femur and shin that are folded together form a powerful grasping apparatus that acts like scissors.
Praying mantis is a master of camouflage
Some types of praying mantises are green in color, so they are difficult to notice among the grass and foliage, others can cast a pinkish tint, as a result, they merge with the flower petals. And, for example, the Indian praying mantis has a brown tint and looks like just a fallen leaf on the ground.
The body shape of the praying mantis and various camouflage colors allow the insect to merge with plants, which makes it almost invisible to both potential victims and enemies. The praying mantis itself can also become a victim of more large predators(birds, lizards). To protect against enemies, the praying mantis has a number of protective devices.
So, the camouflage color makes the praying mantis hiding in the grass almost invisible. Gives out insect movement. Under normal circumstances, the praying mantis moves very slowly, but in danger it can quickly crawl into cover. With a clear threat, the insect visually enlarges the area of its body, opening its wings, and begins to sway from side to side, trying its best to scare away the enemy. With front legs with sharp spikes, the insect tries to hit the enemy.
Mantises - large predatory insects with an elongated body, a triangular head and forelimbs designed to grab and hold prey. They resemble sinister space aliens, although they are ordinary natives of the planet Earth. The question of what a praying mantis looks like is becoming less and less relevant. In order to go fishing for a specimen for your entomological collection, this knowledge will soon no longer be required. The common praying mantis becomes in Russia a rare species due to the plowing of the steppes, which are its main habitat. It is listed in the Red Book of some Russian regions.
Are praying mantises found in Russia
The most common type of insect in Europe is the "common praying mantis". This species is also found in Russia, because borders do not matter for the spread of insects. Going for a walk in the steppe regions, there is a chance to find one of its species. However, civilization is increasingly disrupting the habitual way of these insects. It is possible to see the praying mantis even on the pavement in the middle of the city or on your own windowsill. Of course, the further north, the less likely it is to meet such an insect, since it feels good only in a dry, hot climate.
Where do praying mantises live in Russia
The praying mantis lives in the southern part of central Russia. It can be seen in the Crimea and the Caucasus. The praying mantis settles both in the steppe grass and on the branches of trees. If there is enough food around, he can stay in one place for the rest of his life. The praying mantis lives everywhere in Russia, except that you rarely meet him in the northern regions. There are only rare individuals. What types of insects are known and what territories are the predominant type of their habitat:
Due to the large size of the insect, the praying mantis is easy to catch. He will stop the subject of creative tasks in biology for Russian schoolchildren. The insect is contained in a jar with ventilation holes in the lid. They feed them flies, larvae. The food must be alive: the insect is used to hunting and will not eat carrion. It is better not to plant praying mantises in one container: a stronger individual will destroy the weaker one in the struggle for living space. Thus, every inquisitive schoolboy knows whether various praying mantises are found in Russia.
Despite the fact that praying mantises are accustomed to living in trees or among steppe grass, some species are able to adapt to new urban living conditions. Indeed, without the ability to adapt to changes, the insect will not be able to continue its genus, and who knows, perhaps in the near future, the praying mantis will become for the inhabitants of megacities the same common creature as a fly.
Loading...
