Praying Mantises - Deadly Killers of the Insect World | Free Documentary Nature

no other animal masters deceptive behavior as much as this one the predatory

mantises

the wolves in sheep's clothing the most feared predators in the

insect

world

the Kaiser stool literally a hot spot one of the warmest regions in Germany the sun-drenched slopes They are the ideal growing ground for many fine wines. The Kaiser Stool is particularly known for its Groberg Unda or Pinot Grigio grapes, but lurking among these deliciously sweet fruits is a perfidious predator. Its deceptively devout posture is the source of its common name

praying

mantis. He spends hours cleaning his front legs. These are his main weapon.

Without them, the Mantis would starve. His attack lasts only a fraction of a second. Once trapped, the victim has no chance of escaping. The Mantis will eat him alive. This excruciating procedure can last. hours finally the

deadly

weapons are cleaned again and ready for the next time the volcanic hills are largely covered with a layer of loose, soft and fertile sedimentary stone, this is ideal for growing vines over the centuries the Established access routes have become sunken paths The caves provide valuable shade for winegrowers, as temperatures on steep slopes often exceed 40 degrees Celsius, the rattlesnake grasshopper, on the other hand, finds the heat very pleasant this grasshopper It belongs to the lobster family and is a distant relative of the mantis, since it is a vegetarian and does not need raptors for a long time, but instead has very powerful hind legs for jumping.

This courtship attempt clearly went wrong. The female has already mated and is now laying her eggs using her ovipositor. She places small packets of eggs in various places. It reduces the chance that a single predator will find all the eggs, but eggs from other

insect

s are not good enough for the

praying

mantis. She's hoping for something more substantial. She often hangs upside down for hours, making her less visible, but that doesn't stop the male. Spotting this female, he carefully sneaks up behind her. He doesn't want to become her lunch before mating with her. A large green cricket is attracting the attention of the female and that is an advantage for the male.

This allows it to complete mating, which can go for hours without being subjected to the fatal embrace of its friend. It only has eyes for potential prey, but the grasshopper is only slightly smaller than its attacker. It does not give in. It may not have those powerful front legs. but it has sharp jaws and wastes nothing Obviously not all lobsters are vegetarians The Kaiser's stool attracts visitors whose habitats are normally further south The European bee-eater At the beginning of the 21st century The bee-eater that had become extinct in Germany returned to frequent this area These exotic looking birds are, as their name suggests, skilled insect hunters, they can detect a flying insect from a distance of up to one hundred meters, they dig their burrows in colonies using their feet and beaks to dig into the softer soil, a task that takes almost three weeks, now it is time for a spring cleaning because the birds return year after year to the same colony both partners take on the task together now that the nursery is ready it is time to start raising a family this island located of warmth in the southwest of Germany attracts a number of animals normally found in the south.

The praying mantis is one of them. It is most commonly found in Mediterranean countries in Africa and widely in Asia. In Germany, it has only been able to establish itself in the southwest. and around Chernabog in Berlin, but climate change is encouraging it to spread in the Kaiserstuhl region. Summer nights are so warm that mantids can also be active after sunset when early morning dew falls. this is a sign that midsummer is moving towards the end of summer the hunter now takes a little longer to dry off and prepare for the one day before going out hunting he has to clean his weapons of course long summers are ideal to ripen the succulent fruit for which the Kaiser stool is also famous along with its wines, the edible dormouse knows this well, here it finds enough old fruit trees where it can make its burrows to sleep and reproduce, it will soon retire and enter a hibernation period which will last a good seven or eight months, but first it will have to build up a good layer of fat while the Dormouse prepares for winter the mantids are busy forming a family they are not fully developed or sexually mature until early August the color It is not a question of sex Both sexes can appear in shades of green or brown because male mating is anything but safe sex The male is frequently eaten by the larger female after mating, just a few days later the female lays her eggs on plants or in a nest.

Up to 200 eggs can be hidden in a nest of this type, the female creates it from a foamy protein-based secretion produced. through the sexual duct in a short time this foamy secretion hardens and protects the eggs after laying the adult dies the eggs will instead survive the autumn and winter months in their foamy nest the young

mantises

emerge the following spring They look very similar to their parents because, unlike beetles or butterflies, they do not go through the caterpillar or pupil stage. However, they frequently shed their skin until they reach their full size. Today, mantids are well established in the Kaiserstuhl region, but they originated in Africa, the Mara River that flows through Kenya and Tanzania is the lifeline of that region and nowhere else can lions choose between a table so well stocked and developed so well.

Lions are the only big cats that form a pride and maintain close social contacts. A pride of lions is usually made up of several related females and their cubs, so the young cubs will always have playmates around them, allowing them to develop their muscles and fine-tune their reactions in Africa's national parks. Lions are an attraction for countless visitors. each year, but those visitors are likely to completely ignore the presence of another equally fascinating predator, leaving aside a possible size comparison, which would suspect that, hidden under the appearance of this dry leaf, one of the predators is actually hiding. most perfidious in Africa: the fight between life and death in Africa is not only between the big cats and their prey like these Impala, it also takes place on a much smaller scale out of sight, the ghost mantis prepares and attacks, but like the king of the savannah, he is not always successful.

Ringed mongooses would certainly be happy to feast on a five-centimeter mantis, but the mantis is found higher up, among the bushes and bushes, however, one must be careful not to be inadvertently swallowed by a giraffe, this one does not he can flee the moment he is. he simply shed his old skin, he managed well and soon after the hunter is looking for his next victim, sometimes he is successful, sometimes he is not, but the next opportunity will certainly arise soon in the Mara region, flies abound and there is the ghost. mantis its favorite food the diversity of the fauna here with its parasites and dung ensures the existence of countless flies in this way the largest animals and the smallest insects are linked in many ways to each other in an intact ecosystem in the southern part of the Sahara Africa appears under a much less green mantle.

Few animals can survive the heat and dryness of the rocky desert. One of them is the Egyptian pygmy mantis. It may only be half the size of the European praying mantis, but its hunting skills are just as formidable. They do not just suck the blood of their victims, they cut them off piece by piece with their sharp jaws. A mantis can live on a locust for several days, even up to a week, otherwise it would not be able to survive here in the desert, there are more. 2,400 species of mantis and they have conquered many different habitats.

Most of them live in the tropics and subtropics. Some of the most exotic are found in the mangrove forests of Fanger National Park in northern Thailand. The wandering fiddle mantis. It only takes a little imagination to see the shape of a violin, but

nature

when designing this Hunter thought of dried leaves and the Mantis increases the effect by swinging like such. Their raptor front legs have up to 30 spikes on the inside side, more than almost any other mantis item can get caught on those spikes very easily, so they need constant care and cleaning, is this the head or is it here?

Simple probes show that this is a female, the males have feathers, the six legs have appendages that look like leaves and the back looks like the front of ours this living leaf sways in the wind just intended to Disappoint the surrounding fauna Its camouflage is so realistic that its prey lands here completely unsuspecting but gives the impression that lunch simply flies straight towards the mantids The mouth is actually more problematic The mantids can only hold their prey if They don't get too close if they can't extend their front legs they have no chance near misses are a feature of every hunter's life this is how

nature

guarantees the continued survival of potential prey it is rare for the capture to be successful without the Mantis deploys its weapons this fly was placed in a very convenient position as a treat saves the day of the mantis Fangore National Park is also famous for its numerous orchids and its It is considered the most beautiful of all in the plant kingdom, but it hides among them a potential kill in the form of the Asian jeweled flower mantis.

This is also an accomplished assassin. Well camouflaged, these mantises hide among the flowers and wait for visitors who are looking to feast on pollen instead of a sweet meal. A bitter end awaits them. The eye markings on the wings serve to confuse predators. The inevitable action of Cleaning after a good meal is simplified because the Mantis can turn its head more flexibly than almost any other insect. This articulated neck and large stereoscopic eyes allowed a panoramic vision that did not miss anything. The Asian jungle is home to many varied hunters of all shapes and colors this is the largest and most feared of all the giant Asian mantises at 7 centimeters the male is quite an impressive sight but the female reaches up to 10 centimeters nothing is safe from this killer the male is definitely cannot afford to be wrong there is no escape the suitor is decapitated before he can fulfill his duty because of his Intricately shaped orchid flowers are the ideal hiding place for ambush predators, it is not surprising then that several species of mantises have chosen them as their hunting ground.

This dwarf creature measures just 3 centimeters long. A male walking flower mantis. This is one of the smallest mantises and is felt by many to be the most beautiful, not only does it imitate the colors and shape of orchid flowers, but it also imitates the way they sway in the wind, as it It is light as a feather and can also catapult into the air increasing its attack range, although this is not always the case. as successful as expected a short time later he is back in position expecting too little sometimes one just has a bad day his cleaning instinct is so powerful that he almost misses the next opportunity a huge blue bottle for such a delicate hunter but the power in His front legs are tremendous, the Greek word on which his name is based means prophet, which is not surprising considering the large eyes and pious posture.

Mantids have often played mystical roles in many cultures. They seem invincible. Their strategy seems to be one of the most successful in the insect kingdom, and yet they also have fire ants as enemies. Their strength is their collective strategy. Although they are only six millimeters long, they can dominate animals that are many times larger than their size. They send scouts to locate a new victim in relation to their body mass, the biting power of these small animals is among the most impressive in the animal

world

and then there is the paralyzing venom and a fiery hand is never alone in a matter of minutes, the mantis is surrounded, the giant mantis that is ruthless in its attacks stands no chance against the overwhelming mass of hands.

Entire armies of ants join the fray, attracted by chemical messengers sent by their companions. Reptiles like this dragon lizard also hunt mantises, but no opponent is as aggressive and effective as the fire ants in this army. of attackers will be compared to almost any of the largest animals, even mammals and reptiles, this giant mantis has so far avoided detection by the ant army, but now it faces a completely different problem, like most mantises. , can barely fly. The attack isbetter. form of defense the lizard

free

zes in shock the mantis takes full advantage it may not inject any poison like ants but its jaws are fearsome weapons the lizard, stupefied by the pain, believes it can still get rid of its attacker now the giant mantis leaves from being the hunted to the hunter anything that moves is easy prey gets to work without a moment's delay in a few hours the lizard will be a mere skeleton the contrast could not be more extreme

deadly

attack force coupled with an insatiable appetite wrapped in deception the femme fatale praying mantis of the insect world