Mantises are large predatory insects with an elongated body, a triangular head, and forelimbs designed for grasping and holding prey. They resemble sinister space aliens, although they are ordinary natives of planet Earth. The question of what a praying mantis looks like is becoming less and less relevant. In order to go catching a specimen for your entomological collection, this knowledge will soon no longer be required. The common praying mantis is becoming a rare species in Russia 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 insect species in Europe is the "common mantis". This species is also found in Russia, because borders do not matter for the distribution of insects. Going for a walk in the steppe areas there is a chance to spot one of its species. However, civilization is increasingly disrupting the habitual way of life of these insects. It is possible to see a praying mantis even on the asphalt in the middle of the city or on your own windowsill. Of course, the further north you go, the less likely it is to encounter such an insect, since it thrives only in arid, hot climates.
Where do praying mantises live in Russia?
The praying mantis lives in the southern part of central Russia. It can be seen in Crimea and the Caucasus. The praying mantis settles both in steppe grass and on tree branches. If there is enough food around, it can stay in one place throughout its life. The praying mantis lives everywhere in Russia, except that you rarely see it in the northern regions. Only rare individuals are found there. What types of insects are known and what areas are their predominant habitat:
Due to the large size of the insect, the praying mantis is easy to catch. He will focus on creative assignments in biology for Russian schoolchildren. The insect is kept in a jar with ventilation holes in the lid. They feed them flies and larvae. The food must be alive: the insect is used to hunting and will not eat carrion. It is better not to put praying mantises in one container: the stronger individual will destroy the weaker one in the struggle for living space. Thus, every inquisitive schoolchild knows whether various praying mantises are found in Russia.
Despite the fact that mantises are accustomed to living in trees or among steppe grass, some species are able to adapt to new urban living conditions. After all, without the ability to adapt to changes, an insect will not be able to continue its species, and who knows, perhaps in the near future, the praying mantis will become as common a creature as a fly for residents of megacities.
There are two species of praying mantises in Crimea. The common praying mantis is the largest of them. The length of the male reaches 40-50 cm, the female mantis is even larger: from 48 to 75 cm. The color of this insect can vary from light green to brown. The saturation and tonality of the shade depends on what vegetation the mantis feeds in the place where it lives.
Does the Crimean mantis bite?
The question that worries a person who has met a praying mantis is the following: why is a praying mantis dangerous? Does it bite or not, and if so, is its bite poisonous?
So, the praying mantis bites. This is due to his constant feeling of hunger. The insect is in continuous search for food. This is a predator that attacks its prey unexpectedly, lying in wait for it in ambush. The peculiarity of the praying mantis is its head, which can rotate 180 degrees.
When attacking a victim, the praying mantis covers it with its paws. A resourceful predator spends only a split second on an attack, which is why the victim has no opportunity to avoid the attack. This applies to insects, but what about humans?
Is praying mantis vinegar dangerous for humans?
The belief that praying mantises bite is due to the aggressive behavior of these insects. They are indeed very warlike and love to fight for any reason or without it at all. Just like the black widow female Crimean mantis eats her partner after mating. She can do this, because she is much larger than the male.
On a note: Another quality of the praying mantis is its courage. It can attack not only insects, but also rodents and even small birds. By the way, in a battle, it is these six-legged animals that often win.
Is the praying mantis dangerous to humans? The question is complex. He is quite capable of biting through the skin of a child. A praying mantis can bite through the delicate skin of an adult in the face and neck area. You can see what tenacious legs with spikes he has in this video:
Precautionary measures
As mentioned above, the praying mantis will not attack you first unless you disturb it. Never try to catch an insect unless you know how to do it correctly. To catch a six-legged fish without health consequences, you need to have excellent coordination and knowledge of how to do it correctly. The praying mantis will defend itself with all its might, trying to bite and scratch its opponent with its sharp claws.
- Warn your children not to touch the praying mantis because it bites painfully and can cause injury.
- When going for a walk in nature, look around the area. The praying mantis never attacks a person first, but it can begin to defend itself in case of danger.
- If you are bitten by a praying mantis, you do not need to take any special action. Just treat the area with any antiseptic. Fortunately, praying mantises are not poisonous and when they bite, they do not inject their poison into the skin.
He appeared quite suddenly at the moment when everyone set off on their way back from the mud volcanoes spitting stinking slurry.
And he didn’t just appear, but blocked the dusty road, limply staggering to his full almost microscopic height.
Yes, yes, like our old friend.
But even though everything was clear what kind of bird it was, but with this... everything is more complicated.
The youngest of us extended a finger of friendship to the strangers, asking permission to pass through his domain...
They kindly let us through, but they never bothered to introduce themselves or name their species...
2. In fact, a lyrical digression is just a lyrical digression...
But I still haven’t identified the appearance of this inconspicuous comrade.
Considering that only 7 species of Mantidae (that is, praying mantises) live in Crimea, this should not have been particularly difficult, but... 
3. ... but it's not that simple.
Of the 7 species, we immediately note two types of empusa - the striped empusa and the sandy empusa - they look recognizable and specific.
In addition, we immediately discard two more characteristic species - the oriental iris and Bolivaria short-winged - they have a completely different coloring and body layout.
Also, this cannot be a common praying mantis (that is, a traffic cop), because The common one has a different structure of the back-cloak, spikes and colors.
Two species remain - the Caucasian mantis and Ameles heldreichi (Crimean mantis).
But the first one should have a white spot on the elytra, and the structure is different, and the second one has extremely small dimensions (up to 2.5 cm), and in the first photo we see that it is much larger.
Although in appearance this view is closest to the one captured in the photo.
Here's the dilemma... 
4. But God be with him, with a view.
He is handsome, like all praying mantises.
Especially when he staggers drunkenly and dances.
I don’t like making GIFs, although in this case with the next photo it might be worth it) 
5. Mantis dance 
6. We transplant the praying mantis onto a branch and go our way further along the dusty Cimmerian steppe, scorched by the July sun... 
\
UPD. After all, this is Bolivaria shortwing
My previous photos in the section:
This is not surprising, because the insect is very aggressive and even attacks its relatives. Even during mating, the female praying mantis is known to eat the male. In this regard, the question arises, what differences does the praying mantis insect have, why is this representative of arthropod dangerous and useful for humans? Does its size matter? After all, if we take flies and mosquitoes as an example, it becomes clear that even a tiny creature can cause serious harm to health. Thus, mosquitoes spread malaria and other serious diseases. Praying mantises are not small by insect standards. Different species reach from four to nine centimeters in length! Add to this the ability to camouflage and the habits of a predator - there is something to worry about.
Why does a female praying mantis eat the male during mating??
The breeding season for praying mantises occurs from August to September. Males go in search of dangerous girlfriends, but family happiness is not expected for predatory insects. The female eats the male directly 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 research into the biology of these insects, scientists were of the opinion that the female behaved in such a way as to increase the amount of sperm she received from the agonizing male 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 does not always happen. It is known that especially cautious males are able to complete their mission and quickly get out of the sight of their predatory friend.
Can a praying mantis bite a person??
Young praying mantises behave more modestly than adults, do not attack large prey and do not even try to bite a person. The insects do not pose a serious threat, but they can injure with their claws. An adult can easily survive such a nuisance, but it is better to protect a small child from meeting an aggressive praying mantis. The predator even hunts small birds and mammals if they were careless to disturb his peace.
Can a praying mantis bite an adult when it encounters it? Of course, such a possibility exists. However, children are eager to explore the world around them and have a greater chance of encountering dangerous insects. It is better to keep very young children away from this creature to prevent pain. Don't frighten 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 the praying mantis
Praying mantises are widely used by gardeners to control pests. 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 faithful allies of humans 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 insect mantis, what makes it dangerous and useful for humans is its aggressive gluttony. It bites furiously, fighting all living creatures, it is useful as an entomophage, destroying garden pests. In any case, the insect cannot but attract the attention of both scientists and ordinary people.
The praying mantis is perhaps one of the most amazing and strange insects on our planet, both in its habits and way of life, some features of which can slightly (or even greatly) shock us people. Yes, we are talking about the famous mating habits of mantises, when the female mantis after the mating process (and sometimes right during the process) eats her unlucky gentleman. But, of course, this is not the only thing that makes praying mantises remarkable for, and in our article today we will tell you about all aspects of the life of these unusual insects.
Origin of the name praying mantis
The academic name for the praying mantis was given back in 1758 by the great Swedish naturalist Karl Liney, who drew attention to the fact that the pose of a praying mantis in ambush and guarding its prey is very similar to the pose of a man folding his hands in prayer to God. Because of such striking similarity, the scientist gave the insect the Latin name “Mantis religiosa”, which literally translates as “religious priest”; the name “mantis” itself came into our language.
Although it is not called this way everywhere, our hero also has other, not so blissful names, for example, in Spain he is called Caballito del Diablo - the devil's horse or simply - muerte - death. Such creepy names are obviously associated with the equally creepy habits of praying mantises.
What a praying mantis looks like: structure and characteristics
The structure of the praying mantis is characterized by an elongated body, which distinguishes it from other arthropod insects.
The praying mantis is perhaps the only living creature that can easily turn its triangular-shaped head a full 360 degrees. Thanks to such a useful skill, he can see an enemy approaching from behind. He also has only one ear, but despite this, he has excellent hearing.
The eyes of the praying mantis have a complex faceted structure, located on the sides of the head, but in addition to them, our hero has three more simple eyes above the base of the antennae.
The antennae of mantises are comb-like, feathery or filamentous, depending on the species of the insect.
Mantises, almost all of their species, have well-developed wings, but mainly only males can fly; females, due to their greater weight and size, find it more difficult to fly than males. The wings of praying mantises consist of two pairs: front and rear, the front ones serve as a kind of elytra that protect the hind wings. Also, praying mantis wings usually have bright colors, and sometimes they even have peculiar patterns. But among the many varieties of mantises, there is a kind of earthen mantis (Latin name Geomantis larvoides), which has no wings at all.
Mantises have well-developed forelimbs, which have a rather complex structure - each of them consists of many parts: trochanters, femurs, tibiae and tarsi. The bottom of the thigh has large sharp spines arranged in three rows. There are also spines (though smaller ones) on the mantis’s shin, which is decorated with a sharp, needle-like hook at the end. See the picture for an indicative structure of a praying mantis’ foot.
Mantises hold their prey just between the thigh and the lower leg until their meal is over.
The blood circulation of mantises is primitive, but there is a reason for this - an unusual respiratory system. The mantis is equipped with a complex system of tracheae connected to dichals (stigmas) on the abdomen in the middle and posterior part of the body. The trachea contains air sacs that enhance ventilation throughout the respiratory system.
Sizes of praying mantises
We have already mentioned above that female praying mantises are much larger than males, oddly enough, this is where their main sexual difference manifests itself.
A species of praying mantis, called Ischnomantis gigas in Latin and living in Africa, can reach 17 cm in length; perhaps this representative of the praying mantis kingdom is a real record holder in size.
Ischnomantis gigas is the largest praying mantis in the world.
It is slightly inferior to Heterochaeta orientalis or Heterochaeta eastern, it reaches 16 cm in length. Ordinary mantises are much smaller in size, on average no more than 0.5-1.5 cm in length.
Mantis color
Like many other insects, mantises have excellent camouflage abilities, a biological method of protection from predators, which is why their colors, depending on the environment, are green, yellow and brown. Green mantises live on green mantises, while brown ones are inseparable from the bark of trees.
What does a praying mantis eat?
It is no secret that our hero is a notorious predator who loves to feed on both smaller insects and is not afraid to attack larger prey even than himself. They eat flies, wasps, bumblebees, beetles, etc. Large representatives of the praying mantis family (see above) can even attack small rodents, birds and small amphibians:,.
Mantises usually attack from an ambush, unexpectedly grab the prey with their front paws and do not let go until they have completely eaten it. Strong jaws allow these gluttons to eat even relatively large prey.
Enemies of Mantises
Although praying mantises are excellent predator hunters, they themselves can also become prey for snakes, some birds or bats. But the main enemies of mantises, perhaps, are their own relatives - other mantises. Fights to the death between two rival mantises are not uncommon. The fights themselves, both between praying mantises and with other insects, are very spectacular; first of all, the praying mantis seeks to scare its opponent, for this it takes a special frightening pose - it throws its front paws forward and lifts its belly up. All this may be accompanied by corresponding threatening sounds. Such a demonstration of strength is by no means feigned; mantises are desperately brave and bravely rush even at a much larger opponent. Thanks to such courage and bravery, mantises often emerge victorious from such fights.
Where does the praying mantis live?
Almost everywhere, since their habitat is very wide: Central and Southern Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa, Australia. They are only absent in the northern regions, since mantises are not very accustomed to the cold. But they are perfectly suited, for example, to the hot and humid climate of tropical Africa and South America. Praying mantises thrive in tropical forests, steppe regions, and rocky deserts.
They rarely move from place to place, preferring their usual habitat to unknown distant places, the only reason that can prompt them to travel is the lack of food supply.
Types of mantises: photos and names
Scientists have counted about 2000 different species of mantises; unfortunately, we will not be able to list them all in our article, but we will describe, in our opinion, the most interesting representatives.
The common praying mantis lives in most countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The common praying mantis is a very large representative of the praying mantis kingdom, reaching up to 7 cm (female) and 6 cm (male). As a rule, they are green or brown in color, the wings are well developed, at least, flying from branch to branch is not a problem for the common mantis. The abdomen is ovoid. This type of mantis can be distinguished by a black spot, which is located on the coxae of the front pair of legs on the inside.
Obviously, the homeland and main habitat of this type of mantis is China. The Chinese mantis is quite large, females reach up to 15 cm in length, but the size of males is much more modest. They have green and brown colors. A characteristic feature of Chinese mantises is their nocturnal lifestyle, while their other relatives still sleep at night. Also, young individuals of Chinese mantises do not have wings, which grow only after several molts, at which time they acquire the ability to fly.
The praying mantis Creobroter meleagris lives in southwest Asia: India, Vietnam, Cambodia and several other countries. Usually reach 5 cm in length. The colors are white and cream. You can recognize them by the light brown stripes that run along the entire body and head. Also on the wings they have one small and one large spot of white or cream color.
The mantis Creobroter gemmatus especially loves the humid forests of southern India, Vietnam and other Asian countries. This species is small, females grow to only 40 mm, males up to 38 mm. The body is more elongated than that of other relatives. And for additional protection, the Indian praying mantis has special spikes of different heights on its hips. Painted in cream colors. Representatives of this species are excellent flyers, both males and females, due to their low weight, and both pairs of wings are well developed. Interestingly, on the front wings they have a spot similar to an eye with two pupils, which scares away predators. Flower mantises live, as their names suggest, in plant flowers, where they guard their prey.
The same mantis Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii lives in the countries of southern and eastern Africa. In terms of lifestyle and size, it is very similar to the Indian flower mantis. But what is especially interesting is its coloring - it is truly artistic; on the upper pair of wings there is an interesting pattern reminiscent of a spiral or even an eye. The abdomen of this species has additional spines, which give it its name.
The orchid mantis is, in our opinion, the most beautiful representative of the mantis world. It also received its name for a reason, namely for its external resemblance to beautiful orchids, on which it actually hides in ambush, waiting for its next victim. Female orchid mantises are exactly twice as large as males: 80 mm versus 40. And orchid mantises, even among other mantises, are distinguished by amazing courage; representatives of this species are not afraid to attack even insects twice their size.
The oriental heterochaete, or spiny-eyed mantis, is one of the largest mantises in the world (the female reaches 15 cm in length) and lives throughout most of Africa. These mantises live in the branches of bushes; fortunately, their appearance also resembles twigs.
Reproduction of praying mantises
And here we move on to the most interesting part, namely the reproduction of mantises, which, as a rule, has a sad and tragic end for the males. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, but start in order. With the onset of the mating season (usually in the fall), male praying mantises, using their organs of charm, begin searching for females ready to mate. Having found one, he performs a special “mating dance” in front of her, which elevates him to the rank of sexual partner. Then the mating process itself begins, during which the female praying mantis has the bad habit of biting off her male’s head and then completely eating him. Some scientists believe that this behavior, which is more than creepy in our opinion, also has its own biological reasons - having eaten her “groom”, the female in this simple way replenishes the reserves of nutritious protein substances necessary for future offspring.
Although it also happens that the male manages to get away from his “beloved” in time, thereby avoiding the sad fate of food.
After some time, the fertilized female lays eggs, simultaneously enveloping them with a special sticky secretion, which is secreted by their special glands. This secretion serves as a kind of protective capsule for the eggs of future mantises and is called an ooteca. The fertility of a female depends on its species; usually a female is capable of laying from 10 to 400 eggs at a time.
Praying mantis larvae stay in the eggs from three weeks to six months, after which they crawl out of the eggs. Further, their development proceeds at a fairly fast pace and after about 4-8 molts the larva degenerates into an adult mantis.
Keeping praying mantises at home
Terrarium
It would be a very exotic and unusual act to get yourself a pet praying mantis, wouldn’t it? However, there are people who have such “pets” and if you also want to join them, then the first thing you will have to take care of is the terrarium. A relatively small glass or plastic terrarium with a mesh lid is suitable; its dimensions should be at least three times the size of the mantis itself. Inside it would be nice to place twigs or small plants on which the praying mantis will climb like trees.
Temperature
Praying mantises are heat-loving insects, so the optimal temperature for them will be from +23 to +30 C. You can use special heaters for terrariums.
Humidity
Also, do not forget about humidity, which is also important for these insects. The optimal humidity for praying mantises is 40-60%, and to maintain it, you can place a small container of water inside the terrarium.
What to feed praying mantises at home
Live food. Grasshoppers, cockroaches, flies are perfect. Some species of praying mantises will not mind eating ants. And at the same time, they need to be fed regularly, so keeping such “pets” can be somewhat troublesome. But you don’t need to give praying mantises water, since they get the liquid the body needs from food.
- One of the styles of Chinese martial arts wushu is named after the praying mantis; according to legend, this style was invented by a Chinese peasant watching mantises hunt.
- At one time, in the Soviet Union they wanted to industrially use praying mantises as biological protection against pests of agricultural plants. True, this idea had to be abandoned, since the praying mantises also ate beneficial insects, including bees.
- Since ancient times, praying mantises have been frequent heroes of various myths and legends among African and Asian peoples; for example, in China they personified stubbornness and greed, and the ancient Greeks attributed to them the ability to predict the coming of spring.
The praying mantis is an insect from another planet, video
And in conclusion, we bring to your attention an interesting popular science film about praying mantises.
When writing the article, I tried to make it as interesting, useful and high-quality as possible. I would be grateful for any feedback and constructive criticism in the form of comments on the article. You can also write your wish/question/suggestion to my email. [email protected] or on Facebook, sincerely the author.
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