Dear Lord, prayer prayers can actually catch fish

So, yes, their taste for prey is varied, but apparently it is even more diverse than expected. Last year, in India, a team of scientists led by Roberto Battiston of the Brenta Canal Museums, Italy, saw a single mantis chewing nine guppy fish for several days. The resulting paper, published yesterday in the Journal of Orthoptera Research, is the first to document fish eating behavior in a mantis species. The unprecedented observation is changing what we know about prayer prayers in terms of versatility, physical abilities and intelligence.

Observations of this male mantlet 2.2 inches long (Hierodula heldidentata) were made in a private garden in Karnataka, India. The garden may be artificial, but the researchers say it is an approximation very close to the natural habitat of the mantis, with wasps, butterflies, spiders and several planters. The team observed the mantis as it hunted and devoured the guppies, also called rainbow fish, in a pond, which it did for five consecutive days. In total, the mantis ate nine fish, at least two a day. Here's what the scientists saw, as they describe it in the new study:

In seven cases, the mantide began to eat tail. Once, he left the head and on the other side, the upper side. The first four of the five days, it was observed that the mantid hunted and devoured two fish. The second fish was hunted within 10-30 minutes after consuming the first one. After the fifth day, the mantid disappeared and was no longer observed at the pond.

According to the newspaper, the feeders were not manipulated by the observers and proceeded without any human intervention. The mantis reached the fish by perching on the water lily leaves and the water cabbage.

It's interesting to know that this prey on the guppies is interesting in itself, but this amazing discovery has a lot more to offer.

First, it shows how adaptable these insects really are. The fish do not move like lizards, locusts, hummingbirds or flies, but this mantis was able to pull the guppies when they were swimming near the surface. The mantis devoured for nine days nine of the 40 fish in the pond "showing the possibility that a single invertebrate has a significant impact on the fish community and that guppies, like many other small fish, are active predators. of aquatic insects, indirectly on the entire basin ecosystem ", write the authors. Importantly, this behavior was seen in a single individual; it will take more observations to find out if there was any kind of strange and isolated incident.

Secondly, it seems that the mantis's vision is even better than we thought. The meals took place from sunset at 18:30. The large compound eyes of mantis are sensitive to movement and mainly adapted to daylight. This mantis, however, was able to see the fish both at dusk and in the night, while having to overcome the refraction of light through the water. The authors indicate that male mantis tend to be very active during the night, but these fishing events "suggest other visual abilities of the mantid that should be studied".

Finally, this observation tells us something new about the intelligence of the mantis. After discovering the fish and developing an efficient hunting technique, the mantis returned several times to the garden for food. This strongly suggests that the mantis learned from experience, determining where and what to hunt. This insect, it seems, is not a foolish automaton driven by basic instincts or environmental clues, like ants that follow a trail of pheromones (nothing against ants, they are also great).

This strange tale, that it 's all about a single event or recurring behavior of Mantis, highlights the remarkable abilities of a truly fascinating – and horrifying – predatory insect.