What does a mantis eat in a natural environment?

The stories associated with the mantis are mythical legends and riddles. Many people still do not really know that they are eating a mantis. After all, there are rumors about the incredible cruelty and aggressiveness of these creatures. I wonder if they eat each other? It's time to figure out what the mantis beetle is actually eating.

The insect belongs to the cockroach detachment. It has impressive dimensions, and the female is twice as large as the male - its body reaches 50-75 mm, while in the male it is only 40-50 mm tall. To understand what a mantis eats, it is enough to look at the structure of his torso. The insect has massive, well-developed forelimbs with sharp spines. Grabbing legs are needed for hunting, and sharp thorns, like knives, pierce the victim. The hind legs are used for movement. Hence the conclusion is that eating mantises is far from vegetative food. These are the real predators who ambush their victim from ambush.

You can meet a regular mantis in the tropics and subtropics. In Russia it is distributed on the Black Sea coast and in the Crimea, there are species inhabiting the Far East and the south of Siberia. In their habitual habitat: on the branches of trees and in the grass - mantises masks well. They merge with green foliage, if necessary take off. Female and male have equally developed wings. But they rarely fly. Wood mantises all their life can not leave their favorite place. The main condition is that there should always be food. The fact is that eats mantis mostly small insects, which are half less than himself. In this case, the diet of females and males is not different. At the same time, rumors about the gluttony of the female during I mating confirmed.

There are several hypotheses explaining why the pairing ends in the fact that the mantis female tears off its partner's head. One of the versions - the female is simply hungry and aggressive, that's why she eats her partner.

But there is a more original hypothesis, which is based on the fact that the female's hunger has nothing to do with it. Some males, having reached their chosen one, jump on their back and begin mating, but they are unable to complete it because of the inhibitory impulses coming from the head. For this reason, the female simply tears off the partner's head, as a result of which the male finally impregnates his cruel partner.

In all likelihood, this fact forces many to think that cannibalism is widespread among mantises. This is partly true, although the answer to the question about what the mantis is eating is completely trivial. Food for these cockroaches - any living organism, not exceeding in size. In terrariums, this can be even meat and small lizards. The mantis is afraid of too much prey, so it does not hunt it.

To overtake your prey, a predatory insect can chase it for a long time, try to jump from the back and grab at the head. To eat the caught prey also starts from the head. Adult individuals are very voracious - at a time the male can eat 7-8 cockroaches 1 cm long. The hungrier the mantis, the more aggressive it will be to behave and react to each movement. Saturated, the insects become sluggish and for a time stop hunting.