Praying mantis cannibalism?
These are really weird bugs. They're insects, but they're not actually locusts. They belong more to the cockroach family. They don't jump, and they don't pray, you know. It's the way they sit upright on their back legs and hold their front paws together. They seem to be praying silently, but in the meantime they search the surroundings, looking for their prey.
Praying mantis all have a triangular head, a long neck and very large front legs. They have five eyes. Two large and three small eyelets on top of their heads. What is also very special is that their ears are on their belly! It looks like a long cut. After each molting, a praying mantis will hear a little better. So the older they get, the better their hearing gets!
Photo: flockine
Praying mantis are real cannibals. Sometimes they just eat their brother or sister. The young mantis is called nymph. He eats his brothers and sisters as soon as possible, until only a few remain. Then the nymph has more power to live. That's horrible, isn't it?
Then there's something creepy about the female. She eats her husband after mating! Sometimes she starts eating her husband during mating!! Even without a head and half eaten, the male continues to work until his seed packer is delivered neatly... IEKS!!
