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November 16, 2006 - The remarkable mantis1 OA • The Suffolk Times • November 16, 2006 The remarkable mantis We got an early- morning call from our daughter at the elementary school last week to say the students had spotted a pair of praying man- tises clinging to the ceiling of the entryway of the school. Seeing "their find" was on the ceiling, making it hard for the students to get a good look at them, I suggested she get mantises down where they could be seen up close in the classroom. Working with a broom and a FOCUS little patience, ON she managed to get the praying MATURE mantises down and put them by Paul in a big clear Stoutenburgh plastic jar where everyone could see firsthand one of nature's remarkable insects. As our daughter walked with the jar past the students, they felt the man- tis was waving at them as it charac- teristically reared up and waved its forelegs in the air. It's been well documented that the praying mantis belongs to a pretty tough family of insects. They not only are a terror to any cricket, moth, caterpillar or bug of unbeliev- able size, they are silent killers, liv- ing exclusively on live prey. They are silent in another way — the praying mantis is voiceless and has no ears. They do not hunt their prey but sit quietly and wait for them to come close enough to be caught easily. The mantis stares them down and the prey becomes immobilized with fear and are able to be taken easily. I saw a similar situation unfold years ago with a mouse when with a group of students someone spotted a saw - whet owl (our smallest) under a low pine tree. As we crawled in closer to get a better look at the owl, we stirred up a mouse that ran towards the owl and froze, motionless, in front of it. The owl easily picked up the mouse and flew away with it. Praying mantises are cannibalistic to their own kind. As a matter of fact, while we were trying to pho- tograph them, the female whipped around instantly and clenched the Suffolk Times pholos by Barbara Stouterburgh One can see why the prey of the praying mantis are stopped In their tracks when this monster approaches. Not only does she have three tiny eyes get In the triangle in mid forehead, but she also has a bulging compound eye on either side. male, but as they were moving out of the container they were in, the male was able to get away with everything intact. It is well known that the fe- male praying mantis often eats the male while he is mating with her. As fall approaches the male man- tis goes looking for females. When a male spots a female — easily recognized by her green color, her larger size and swollen, egg-filled abdomen — his normally active be- havior undergoes a striking change. Instead of seeking attention, he stops, then creeps slowly toward her like a cat stalking a bird. If detected, he freezes again and will remain motionless for as long as necessary for her to lose sight of him. Stalk- ing in this way, the male may spend hours reaching the female. When he is close — only inches away, just i beyond her grasp — he opens his wings and leaps onto her back. Now that he has made it safely to her back, he proceeds to woo her. He strokes her with his two antennae in hopes of her accepting him. He then fertilizes the hundreds of eggs in her swollen abdomen. Mating finished; he drops off her back and scurries to safety as fast as he can. That is, if he is lucky. Many don't make it, for here is where the female praying mantis swivels her head around and eats her mate starting at the head and devouring the complete body, leaving only the legs and wings. The meal finished, she then cleans up, us- ing her legs to wash up and over her head, cat -like. Several weeks later, the female mantis builds a chambered egg case by creating a sticky, papier- mgche - like material that she whips air into, laying her 50 to 250 eggs in its cen- ter, and then she abandons it. Her egg cases are attached to grasses, bushes, vines, etc., no more than four feet from the ground. The material she uses to build these egg cases when hardened becomes waterproof and tastes bad to inquisitive birds, mice and other prowlers who are always looking for a meal of mantis eggs. It's in these durable egg cases she puts her hope, as often after egg - laying she simply dies with the coming of winter. The same is true of the male. We couldn't find a picture of an egg case in our file, so I asked my daughter if she might have one at school we could photograph to go along with my weekly article. Sure enough, she had one that The praying one of her students had mantis belongs brought in for to a pretty her to identify. tough family of This brings me IOSBCtS. to a story she relayed to me. When she was first teaching she had brought a praying mantis egg case to show the students. It was shown and then put away for anoth- er time. Not thinking about having taken the egg case from the cold out- doors and bringing it into the warm classroom, she put it away in what she thought would be a safe place. A few weeks went by when she arrived one morning to find the wall covered with tiny crawling insects. You guessed it. The warm room had helped to hatch the young praying mantises and they were doing what comes naturally, leaving the egg case and starting out on their own, where out of doors they would live on such tiny insects as aphids, mosquitoes, gnats, etc. One might ask what she did with the hundreds of tiny insects crawl- ing up the wall of the classroom. She was quite resourceful, for she got a soft brush and swept them all into a dustpan and then into ajar. Later, after the kids saw them, she released them into the school garden. The life cycle of the praying mantis, after mating (at left), continues through the eggs the female lays in a hardened egg case (above), as both the male and female die over the winter. The female spins a froth -like substance, with hundreds of eggs protected Inside. You have probably come across one of these praying mantis egg cases in your gar- den. When warm spring weather comes, the young emerge. e Suffolk Times • November 16, 2006 . v IP, �irrl�lu. r Suffolk Times photos by Barbara Stoutenb One can see why the prey of the praying mantis are stopped In their trai when this monster approaches. Not only does she have three tiny eyes in the triangle in mid forehead, but she also has a bulging compound eye either side. rxa we got an ear,ry- morning can iruin our daughter at the elementary school last week to say the students had spotted a pair of praying man- tises clinging to the ceiling of the entryway of the school. Seeing "their find" was on the ceiling, making it hard for the students to get a good look at them, I suggested she get mantises down where they could be seen up close in the classroom. Working with a broom and a Focus little patience, ON she managed to get the praying NATURE mantises down and put them by Paul in a big clear Stoutenburgh plastic jar where everyone could see firsthand one of nature's remarkable insects. As our daughter walked with the jar past the students, they felt the man- tis was waving at them as it charac- teristically reared up and waved its forelees in the air. V � / tiull kn h llJ l l�r "'�l lu i uhm A i i n/, �w!• N { W n Jµ Mpw In", n Pn' , �rva'lM'r my n "l A ��' n. :n „ 4'uu' mww�� ,� AL q No, p,�,���y .",�`r»" �I !✓�;� ry ��� +uM' 4J � �4!'�r,u W i � �. lry ~ WI d l' JN�� ✓+N �VI �+� � 4 � M y y w�mN m n a v. 41 v0� r � A "pry N � ";, Jl'r' G ^, r 1�r�f� ryN ,,,1; ✓ V� � �n W'�, �u r �irrl�lu. r Suffolk Times photos by Barbara Stoutenb One can see why the prey of the praying mantis are stopped In their trai when this monster approaches. Not only does she have three tiny eyes in the triangle in mid forehead, but she also has a bulging compound eye either side. rxa we got an ear,ry- morning can iruin our daughter at the elementary school last week to say the students had spotted a pair of praying man- tises clinging to the ceiling of the entryway of the school. Seeing "their find" was on the ceiling, making it hard for the students to get a good look at them, I suggested she get mantises down where they could be seen up close in the classroom. Working with a broom and a Focus little patience, ON she managed to get the praying NATURE mantises down and put them by Paul in a big clear Stoutenburgh plastic jar where everyone could see firsthand one of nature's remarkable insects. As our daughter walked with the jar past the students, they felt the man- tis was waving at them as it charac- teristically reared up and waved its forelees in the air. V � / tiull kn h llJ l l�r "'�l lu i uhm A i i n/, �w!• N { W n Jµ Mpw In", n Pn' , �rva'lM'r my n "l A ��' n. :n „ 4'uu' mww�� ,� AL q No, p,�,���y .",�`r»" �I !✓�;� ry ��� +uM' 4J � �4!'�r,u W i � �. lry ~ WI d l' JN�� ✓+N �VI �+� � 4 � M y y w�mN m n a v. 's been well documented that the praying mantis belongs to a pretty tough family of insects. They not only are a terror to any cricket, moth, caterpillar or bug of unbeliev- able size, they are silent killers, liv- ing exclusively on live prey. They are silent in another way — the praying mantis is voiceless and has no ears. They do not hunt their prey but sit quietly and wait for them to come close enough to be caught easily. The mantis stares them down and the prey becomes immobilized with fear and are able to be taken easily. I saw a similar situation unfold years ago with a mouse when with a group of students someone spotted a saw - whet owl (our smallest) under a low pine tree. As we crawled in closer to get a better look at the owl, we stirred up a mouse that ran towards the owl and froze, motionless, in front of it. The owl easily picked up the mouse and flew away with it. Praying mantises are cannibalistic o their own kind. As a matter of act, while we were trying to pho- tograph them, the female whipped around instantly and clenched the male, but as they were moving out o the container they were in, the male was able to get away with everythin intact. It is well known that the fe- male praying mantis often eats the male while he is mating with her. As tail approaches the male man- s goes looking for females. When male spots a female — easily ;cognized by her green color, her .rger size and swollen, egg - filled :)domen — his normally active be- avior undergoes a striking change. istead of seeking attention, he ops, then creeps slowly toward hei ke a cat stalking a bird. If detected freezes again and will remain Motionless for as long as necessary or her to lose sight of him. Stalk - g in this way, the male may spend curs reaching the female. When is close — only inches away. iust beyond her grasp — he opens his wings and leaps onto her back. Now that he has made it safely to her back, he proceeds to woo her. Hf strokes her with his two antennae in hopes of her accepting him. He then fertilizes the hundreds of eggs in her swollen abdomen. Mating finished; he drops off her back and scurries to safety as fast as he can. That is, if. he is lucky. Many don't make it, for here is where the female praying mantis swivels her head around and eats her mate starting at the head and devouring the complete body, leaving only the legs and wings. The meal finished, she then cleans up, us- ing her legs to wash up and over her head, cat -like. Several weeks later, the female mantis builds a chambered egg case The life cycle of the praying mantis, after mating (at left), continues through the eggs the female lays in a hardened egg case (above), as both the male and female die over the winter. The female spins a froth -like substance, with hundreds of eggs protected inside. You have probably come across one of these praying mantis egg cases in your gar- den. When warm spring weather comes, the young emerge. like material that she whips air into, laying her 50 to 250 eggs in its cen- ter, and then.she abandons it. Her egg cases are attached to grasses, bushes, vines, etc., no more than four feet from the ground. The material she uses to build these egg cases when hardened becomes waterproof and tastes bad to inquisitive birds, mice and other prowlers who are always looking for a meal of mantis eggs. It's in these durable egg cases she puts her hope, as often after egg- laying she simply dies with the coming of winter. The same is true of the male. We couldn't find a picture of an egg case in our file, so I asked my daughter if she might have one at school we could photograph to go along with my weekly article. Sure enough, she had one that The praying one of her mantis belongs students had brought in for to a pretty her to identify. tough family of This brings me insects. to a story she relayed to me. When she was first teaching she had brought a praying mantis egg case to show the students. It was shown and then put away for anoth- er time. Not thinking about having taken the egg case from the cold out- doors and bringing it into the warm classroom, she put it away in what she thought would be a safe place. A few weeks went by when she arrived one morning to find the wall covered with tiny crawling insects. You guessed it. The warm room had helped to hatch the young praying mantises and they were doing what comes naturally, leaving the egg case and starting out on their own, where out of doors they would live on such tiny insects as aphids, mosquitoes, gnats, etc.. One might ask what she did with the hundreds of tiny insects crawl- ing up the wall of the classroom. She was quite resourceful, for she got a soft brush and swept them all into a dustpan and then into a jar. Later, after the kids saw them, she released them into the school garden.