A praying mantis that catches fish is Guppy's worst nightmare

With their folded arms and large triangular faces, the mantes are immediately recognizable and renowned for their predatory prowess. But while flies feed on insects, an opportunistic individual in India has developed a taste for fish.

For the first time, scientists observed a praying mantis chasing guppies, a type of tropical freshwater fish. The long-arm predator caught the small fish in an artificial pond in southwestern India and nibbled this behavior, demonstrating previously unknown behavior in these insects.

The hunter, a male Hierodula tenuidentata – According to a new study, it is also known as the giant Asian Mantis – it is about 2 inches (6 centimeters) long and captures guppies 0.8 to 1.2 inches (2 to 3 cm) long. [Lunch on the Wing: Mantises Snack on Birds (Photos)]

For five nights in March 2017, the mantis visited the artificial pond in a rooftop garden planter. He was perched on water lilies and water sprouts on the surface of the pond and fished for his dinner, catching and devouring up to two fish per night.

The unique observations of scientists describe the behavior of a single insect. Nevertheless, Roberto Battiston, a researcher at the Musei Canal di Brenta in Valstagna, Italy, told Live Science that it was possible to apply more widely some interesting conclusions on the general understanding of mantid hunting.

For example, there was no shortage of food in the garden; there were many flies and other insects that the mantis could have eaten. Yet the hunter returned to the pond each night for five consecutive days, choosing to fill his belly with fish rather than flies.

"This behavior is very similar to an accurate hunting strategy – no random choices," said Battiston.

Drawn at the movement

When mantides are in search of food, their eyes are attracted by movements rather than shapes or colors. In the case of the fishing mantis, the insect was probably attracted by a sudden movement of the guppy's flag-shaped large tail under the surface of the water. And when the mantis leapt with her powerful front legs, she caught the fish, Battiston said.

But catching a meal wiggling in water is very different from removing it from the air. The fact that the mantis can do this again and again suggests an unexpected adaptability of the vision of the mantis and hunting abilities, he explained.

Mantises are ravenous hunters who eat everything they can catch (including other mantides), and the larger the mantis, the greater the prey it can catch. Birds are a common menu item for large mantides; Last year, researchers described examples of small bird hunts in 13 countries, targeting hummingbirds and small passerines (the group consisting of finches, sparrows and canaries).

The encounters between mantides and large prey – such as tarantulas, snakes, mice and lizards – are documented in videos on the Internet, said Battiston. But the vast majority of them are staged matches in which the mantis is introduced into his meal in artificial conditions that would not occur naturally.

"Mantides are well known to be excellent predators, so it's easy to put them in a cage and have them fight or feed on strange animals," he said.

On the other hand, a mantis in the wild is usually more cautious when approaching larger prey. But when the mantises are hungry, "nothing can stop them," Battiston said.

"Once, I observed a large female of Mantis religiosa catching a bee with one leg, "he said. While the insect was fighting like hell, trying to sting and kill the mantis, she caught another bee with her other leg. She finished this very spicy double meal in about half an hour, with a quiet elegance! "

Other studies have shown that mantides can learn from harmful experiences – a technique called aversive learning, said Battiston. However, these new findings suggest that mantides can also formulate new methods to achieve endearing prey, suggesting that they may also be able to achieve more complex cognitive goals, he said.

The results were published online today (Sept. 20) in the Journal of Orthoptera Research.

Original article on Live Science.