Skip to main content

The Orchid Mantis | 10 Curiosities of this beautiful killer

In nature there are many animals that attract our attention for their curious behaviors.We are amazed and sometimes we are horrified by situations that are biologically determined, but that are incomprehensible to us.The praying mantis and its action after mating is one of them.In this article we want to approach another very special mantis: The Orchid Mantis.Discover 10 Curiosities of this beautiful killer.

The mantles, popularly known as "mantis" are an order of neopteric insects that has more than 2,450 species.They live all over the planet, but preferably in tropical areas.One of its main characteristics is the ease of camouflaging or mimicking in the environment in which they live.In the case of the Mantis Orquidea , it takes a shape and color similar to that of these plants, but does not live only among them, but camouflages itself between different types of flowers.

10 Curiosities of the Orchid Mantis

1.The Orchid Mantis belongs to a group of mantis that mimics flowers and are part of the « Hymenopodidae family ».Its main feature is aggressive mimicry, which means that they are predators that camouflage themselves with colors and patterns to attract their prey.Their technical name is "Hymenopus coronatus", although it is also known as "Malay orchid mantis" or "Pink orchid mantis" . p>

The Orchid Mantis | 10 Curiosities of this beautiful killer

2.The habitat of these curious creatures are the rain forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand or Sumatra.

3 Its usual food is the prey that it gets camouflaged as a flower.It usually eats small insects such as flies, crickets, fruit mosquitoes, beetles, bees and even those of the same species of smaller size.They can also eat small lizards or toads However, it not only consumes animals, but one of the curiosities that characterize it is that it can also feed on ripe bananas and is the only species of praying mantis that eats them.

The Orchid Mantis | 10 Curiosities of this beautiful killer

4.To blend in, the body of the mantis, brightly colored, manages to resemble an orchid.This is what helps her to camouflage between the flowers favoring that it can attack its prey.The four legs that it uses to walk are very similar to the petals of the orchids and instead, the front ones, which are jagged, have the function of grabbing their prey.

The Orchid Mantis | 10 Curiosities of this beautiful killer

5.The body of the orchid mantis is so similar to that of a flower that the insect goes up and down the branches from the plants until you find one that has flowers among which you can camouflage.When you find the right place, you take the branches with the back legs and swing from one side to the other like any flower measured by the wind.his body has a small black spot at the end of his abdomen that is confused by flies with one of his own species and for that reason they approach quietly to be, immediately followed, devoured by the mantis.

6.Hymenopus coronatus has one of the largest sexual dimorphisms among all mantis species.In general, females are larger than males, but in the case of the orchid mantis the difference between one and the other is very pronounced, so that one sex is half the size of the other.Mid females in 7 to 8 cm.and males between 3 and 4 cm.In general, it has been observed that female mantis eat males especially in captivity since they obtain the nutrients they need for their offspring.83% of mantis males are not consumed by their sexual partners.

The Orchid Mantis | 10 Curiosities of this beautiful killer

7.The camouflage of this peculiar insect has a double purpose.On the one hand it is a way of aggressive mimicry with which attracting their prey and on the other is a way to deceive their predators.

8.There is an urban legend that says that the mantis are dangerous.It is not true.The mantis are aggressive and the orchid mantis too, but neither they bite nor are they poisonous.In some countries they even eat them and in others they are considered sacred animals due to their posture in which it seems they are praying.

The Orchid Mantis | 10 Curiosities of this beautiful killer

9.The life expectancy of a mantis is between eight months and one year.The nymphs, in order not to be depredated, before developing are orange and black to resemble the insects of the Reduviidae family (to which they belong the bed bugs) and they have an unpleasant taste, in addition to a powerful bite.When they move, they take the white and pink colors that will resemble orchid flowers, although both light and moisture will influence their final color.

10.The Mantis Orquidea and many other floral mantises are very popular as pets, but there seems to be some difficulty in getting them to reproduce in captivity and they are very expensive.

The orchid mantis has a very behavior similar to other mantis, but it has the peculiarity of its beauty.Do you know this curious insect? Do you have more information about it? Share it with us and so we can expand this list of curiosities.If you want to meet other extraordinary-looking animals, we invite you to read:

Images: Luc Viatour, Raffi Kojian, Sara Bea Delgado

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

3 ways to deal with everyday sadness

Being sad is not being depressive , this is a nuance that we must make clear from the beginning.Another important aspect that we should admit is that sadness is something that catches us all from time to time.when, and what we don't like to prove.The reason? For many, to be sad is to appear a certain weakness, a decay that in the eyes of others shows lack of character or warmth. It is not true .Who admits his sadness and recognizes it He is able to face it.Who hides or conceals it with other aspects, through masks such as irony and even frustration, creates scabs that will prevent him from moving forward with courage. Sadness is a common enemy that you have to know how to manage .It sometimes appears without our understanding why… How do I feel this way today if I had a great day yesterday? Maybe it's the weather, maybe that punctual psychological discomfort is due to a bad diet, to be under defenses, it can happen...Or it may also be that without knowing how or why, ...

A black hole will be photographed in 2017

2017 will be a year of challenges for astronomy, and in particular for the study of our solar system and the galaxy it is in.With some luck it could be the year that we managed to have the first photograph of a black hole Thanks to an international project, the Event Horizon Telescope . A black hole will be photographed in 2017 We will tell you a story that could reach a climax in 2017, but which began in 1971, when Martin Rees and Donald Lynden-Bell proposed the hypothesis that in the center of the Milky Way , our galaxy, there should be a supermassive black hole, which they named as Sagittarius A * , to differentiate it from the rest of the central sector, known as Sagittarius A, and to indicate that something very special was happening there. Supermassive black holes are usually found in the center of galaxies and there is still no cons among astrophysicists about how they originate, but they could play a fundamental role in the stability of elliptical and spiral galax...

How do astronauts feed?

It has not caused you a great curiosity what is the best food that can be taken to space? The truth is that the news in reference to the space moon all calls our attention.Today we talk about how astronauts feed. How do you eat in space? Space foods are basic foods that can cover all the basic needs of astronauts without being a nuisance, since food has to save the laws of gravity. So, for example, there are some foods to avoid because they drop crumbs, others like drinks spread drops... The best way to eat without gravity playing tricks is on trays that hold your body with a kind of harnesses.The trays are already prepared with the full menu attached with velcro to the trays and with the covered that are magnetic so they don't fly away! As for the drinks, they bring a kind of light bulb so that no drops jump. Before meals you have to hydrate through a gallon with water, so that there are no spills, although it seems somewhat complicated astronauts rece...

10 things you didn't know about living in space

Is there extraterrestrial life in the galaxy? It is almost certain that yes, although with certainty we can only affirm it on the surroundings of the Earth, where since the end of the 1950s there have been human beings coming and going in different space vehicles, or spending more or less long stays in stations and Space labs like the Skylab , the Mir station or the ISS . We invite you to know some curious facts about how is to live in an environment "far from this world", although not so much. 10 things you didn't know about living in space 1.In the International Space Station (ISS, by its acronym in English) you can see the sunrise 16 times a day .This can be fun at first, make you feel like the Little Prince in its asteroid, but it can eventually confuse you around the development of time and daily activities. The schedule at the ISS is based on Greenwich Mean Time (an intermediate hour between Londr it is, Houston and Moscow) and it is about performing a ...

Can you imagine what we could eat in the future?

Julio Verne said in one of his books, and I quote it from memory, that everything that a man imagines another man can make it happen.Science fiction is born, but the possibility is born that those imagined realities become Some time in concrete things.Do you remember one of the parents of cosmonautics, Konstantin Tsiolkovski, who imagined colonies and space stations? Well, we talked about all this to present you a new project, to call it somehow, in which some have imagined how we will eat in the not-so-distant future.Are you with us? 5 possible forms of food 1.Photosynthesis? No, we are not talking about the famous autotrophs, those people who say they live without eating or drinking.We are talking about a study that advances the marine biologist Chuck Fisher , where he analyzes the symbiotic relationship between corals and algae and its possible application to the world of humans, as an alternative to alleviate the hunger on Earth. His proposal is quite original and cer...

Do you look more like your father than your mother? Genetics says that if you're a mammal, it will be

Do you look more like your father than your mother? In family gossip, it is certain that some member discusses the incredible resemblance you have with one or the other, either physically or in terms of personality. However, in terms of genetics, a recent study developed With mammalian research models, he points out that, although we inherit balanced amounts of mutations from both parents, the father's DNA is more significant in some ways. Do you look more like your father than your mother? The genetics responds This investigation of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of North Carolina, in the United States, represents for Fernando Pardo-Manuel de Villena, leader of the research, a finding that opens the way to new areas of exploration in human genetics and disease-associated variables. With the study of a genetically diverse population of mice, which would simulate the conditions of the human genome, they demonstrated that there is a great difference in inherit ce...

5 simple habits with which you will be happier and "freer" every day

Happiness...How could we define it? It is often said that happiness, they are not things , and in a way it is something we cannot deny.Because happiness is momentary sensations, it is a cool breeze during a summer afternoon on the beach, it is a caress that you do not expect, it is a smile in the street of a stranger and it is also a satisfied sigh of who feels good, and does not need anything else. Have you ever felt it? We hope that many. It is also clear that these sensations "so high" can not have every day, but in reality, we can enjoy that daily well-being which is part of the simplest acts, in the smallest things.Those that we should allow ourselves and that from our space, we invite you to put into practice. Do you want to be a little happier every day? Then dare with any of these aspects. 1.You have to let go who never did anything to stay Reflect for a few moments throughout that circle social that you have around you.On occasions, our daily hap...

We could not imagine that this animal was in danger of extinction today

The intervention of the human being in the natural habitat of the fauna around the world and the effects of the deterioration of the planet earth have put many animal species in danger of extinction , but one of those who adds to that sad list is unexpected. This is the Mexican donkey , a noble animal that because of agricultural advances could say goodbye to us forever. We are sure that you would never have guessed that this animal is in danger of extinction Commonly used to help in the hard work of agriculture in the fields of Mexico, the native donkeys from this country of Central America they are experiencing a considerable drop in their population figures . According to the Agricultural Census IO of Mexico, which dates back to 1991, for this date one and a half million copies of the animal were counted, but alarmingly a similar study carried out in 2016 determined that today there are only about 500 thousand. One of the main causes of this serious problem is th...

Why is the skin of the genitals a different color?

Have you ever wondered why the skin of the genitals is a different color than the rest of the body? If that is the case, we invite you to continue reading and discover the answers to this question. Why is the skin of the genitals a different color? Both in the case of the vagina and the penis the skin color is usually different from the rest of the body .The reasons are much more common than you think, and in the Most cases should not generate any kind of concern, since it is something perfectly normal. The English newspaper Daily Mail collects the impressions and comments of two American dermatologists, the Dr.Cameron Rokhsar and Dr.Lindsey Bordone , regarding why the skin of the penis is a different color than the rest of the body.The key to this chromatic difference is mainly due to hormones. In this sense, they explain that the levels of hormones such as testosterone and estrogen profoundly influence cells called melanocytes, which in turn regulate the melanin ...