Timid or just really precise

Now that I have ghost Mantids I am becoming VERY obsessed with them. They are so fascinating and their camouflage is like no other (except all the other dead leaf mimicking mantids)

I was just thinking, at first I thought they were timid because the flies would just walk all over them, but then I thought, maybe they just need the right moment. I watched one of my females watch this fly for a couple minutes. She clearly wanted to eat it, but it just needed to be a the right place. Needless to say, she caught it and destroyed it. 

Maybe with Ghosts and other mantids that rely super heavily on their disguise, they inherently know that they cant afford to move around wasting energy because they can be next on the the food chain. The insect needs to be caught and taken down quickly. 

Or the could just be a timid species. Haha! I just saw the way she went after the fly was like there is no way this mantis is timid. Lol just my thoughts!

minomantis said:

Maybe with Ghosts and other mantids that rely super heavily on their disguise, they inherently know that they cant afford to move around wasting energy because they can be next on the the food chain. The insect needs to be caught and taken down quickly. 

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Breaking camouflage to strike could get you killed by a larger predator. I think they prefer to strike when they are certain they have a good chance of success.

I sometimes can't even watch my Ghosts hunt, it's so frustrating seeing the fly right in front of them and they don't even try, lol. I usually feed them and then check back a few minutes later (and most times keep checking back again and again ) to see if they are eating yet. 

Meanwhile, my female Orchids are bottomless fly pits

They are pretty timid at times, it really depends on the mantis though. 

- MantisGirl13

I bought 8 ghost mantis last week ranging from L2 to L4s. 8 of them will just whack the fruitflies the second it comes within range, it is cool watching them. The only thing that moves first is their head then they slowly bob and lean into position to strike. Then I have two L2s who initially run like heck all over the enclosure when a fruitfly comes near them.

I just got 4 Ghost Mantises and one of the females is super timid. So timid to the point where if spooked she will press herself as low as she can on whatever she is perching on and hide her face. I've never seen an insect react that way--I know I'm probably just anthropomorphizing but it almost seems like she has a higher level of cognizance than the other mantids. The other ones will kind of glance over when they notice me, but she will hide behind a stick and move her head to the side and look around the stick at me. She eats only when there is no other movement anywhere, and has moved maybe +/- and inch since I've put her in her new enclosure on Saturday.