Mantis - predatory insects, leading a single way of life.
Are inclined to cannibalism.
They were named after Karl Linnaeus for the constant pose of a "praying person".
Appearance and food of mantises
Mantis is a chameleon; it can change color, inDepending on the environment in which he lives. It adapts itself to the colors of trees, stones, branches and leaves. The color of the insect can be varied, the most common are green, yellow and brown.
Interesting features of this type of insect is that they have only one ear, they can turn their heads up to 180 degrees and even look over their shoulders.
The mantis has wings, but it flies very rarely. If the place of his habitation of food is in abundance, the insect will spend here his whole life. Fly it can cause danger or hunger. In addition, only mantis males are able to fly, as females are larger and their wings can not stand.
The mantis is very slow, taking the necessaryColor, he can remain motionless for a long time, waiting for prey. When approaching the predator grabs her forepaws, which he almost always raised up. They have special notches, helping to keep the victim caught. First he kills her, and then eats. The mantis feeds on flies, flies, mosquitoes and spiders. And larger species can eat lizards, frogs and even birds.
Mantis is an extremely bold insect. He does not fly away from his enemies, but frightens them. For this, the predator spreads its wings, rises on its hind legs, swaying sideways, emits menacing sounds.
For people, the praying mantis is very useful, as it performs the function of an orderly, a cleaner from pests, but sometimes it can destroy useful insects - bees, ladybirds.
The period from August to September - the time of mating atPraying mantises. At this time, the male leaves the habitat, going to the search for a female. If she is hungry, she may well eat her boyfriend, since she is bigger in size. And during intercourse sometimes bites his head. After fertilization, after a certain period of time the female lays about a hundred eggs in a special glutinous mass. Larvae of the mantis are small in size, but very mobile. They feed on the first time aphids, thrips, and can eat each other.
Mantis live about three months, males dieEarlier than females. This is because after fertilization they become weaker, stop hunting, and the amino acids necessary for life disappear from the body.