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Post by sam1 on Aug 3, 2018 0:16:54 GMT 5
I don't know about you but to me, there is something deeply intriguing about Mantises.
Watch them taking on reptiles, birds, mammals, and all kinds of most formidable arthropods.
Some of these are the critters I would never expect a mantis to have a chance against. Especially a giant tarantula and giant centipede. The tarantula gets defeated in an uncanny manner that more resembles a high order mammalian hunter than an insect.
The strength of the mantis forearms is truly impressive and much greater than they may appear, and the fighting skill at display here really demonstrates why it inspired some of the great martial arts.
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Post by prehistorican on Apr 12, 2019 6:48:29 GMT 5
I've had an orchid mantis before, and they are pretty fascinating. At parity I believe mantises are pretty strong pound for pound (ounce for ounce?). Fast and quick reactions with strong gripping arms is a deadly killer insect.
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Post by elosha11 on Apr 12, 2019 21:38:09 GMT 5
Yes, praying mantis are great fighters in the insect world. Quick and strong and attacks in a unique and unpredictable manner. However -- one thing that can take it down though is the giant yellow hornet. Those things are like a tank, huge powerful heads, robust body and a sting. Even a smaller hornet can kill a larger mantis.
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Post by sam1 on Apr 13, 2019 16:41:12 GMT 5
With mantises there seems to be the case that the bigger they are, relatively more powerful.
The common green praying mantis will often get dominated by similar sized predators but the very largest and most robust ones, such as the ones taking out the goliath tarantula and giant centipede, can punch away above their weight. I'm sure they'd simply overwhelm and crush the giant hornet, just too big and powerful.
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Post by elosha11 on Apr 13, 2019 23:42:33 GMT 5
^Yes, you are correct that the biggest mantises can handle even the dangerous giant hornet, as seen here. This is either an African or Chinese mantis, and much larger than the green mantis or the hornet.
However, it dwarfs the hornet (which is already a very large insect) in size. I wonder who would win if the hornet was scaled up to equal size. I find it extremely impressive that the hornet can so easily kill green mantises, which are also quite a bit larger than the hornet.
Here's another example of just that.
Dimensionally, the mantis seems much larger, although the wasp is very robust and compact, and may weigh as much or even more than the mantis.
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