Praying Mantis Eating Cricket
Last week I caught a praying mantis. I realized that I had never seen one hunt before and so I caught a cricket. I put the cricket in the cage with th–SNAP! Before I could even blink, I saw a flicker of movement and the cricket was firmly held in the mantis’ forelegs. The mantis had already said its prayers, I guess, because it immediately started eating the cricket.
She was so absorbed with eating that I was able to remove the lid of the cage and take very close photographs of her dining.
I love the leg and foot articulation of both insects in the larger version. The spurs on the cricket’s hindlegs are interesting, but what fascinates me the most is how the mantis’ foot folds around and out of the way to leave the hook and pliers of her foreleg exposed for trapping prey. In the larger version, you can clearly see her foot jackknifed out of the way. Here’s a closeup at maximum resolution:
Another thing that fascinates me in this photo is how dark her eyes are. Something in her compound eye must open up to compensate for the darkness. After about 10 minutes under the indoor lights, her eyes returned to the normal green you would expect. I let her go at night, and by the time I had taken her outside, her eyes had darkened again to adapt. I didn’t know compound eyes could do that!
Slowly getting the site back onto an even keel. It's nice to get back into the old posting rhythm.
SamWibatt said,
October 15, 2007 @ 9:26 pm
Wow, I didn’t know their eyes could do that either!
Terrific shot, if a bit gross. I used to keep mantises as pets and have seen them eat a jillion gr’oppers - this brought back some good memories (if a bit gross).
Margaret Hickox said,
October 18, 2007 @ 9:06 am
I would like to find out what part of the eye opens in darkness. Is it the compound lens? Or is there something corneal behind. You are an awesome observer!