# Do your mantids do this? Or is it odd!!??



## Psychobunny (Oct 18, 2011)

I was feeding my L5 shield nymph and droped a few BB pupae in there. Interestingly, she picked them up

off the floor and stared eating them! I thought that was a bit odd, since they are so small, and dont move.

She still seemed to know it had goodies inside!! But to me, they just look like black rat turds!!

Some of my mantids will eat the larva, since they are light colored and wiggly, but have never seen a

mantis pick the pupae up off the floor!!??


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## patrickfraser (Oct 18, 2011)

Mine does


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## tina1 (Oct 18, 2011)

yer mine do too. Mainly my sphod species, but i have had others do it too.


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## warpdrive (Oct 18, 2011)

I normally do this for my cameleons, but never for my mantids.

I'll have to give it a try when I get some new ones.


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## meaganelise9 (Oct 18, 2011)

:lol: That's kinda funny. They're not dumb (compared to other bugs). One time I accidentally killed a fly before I got it in to feed it to my popa. I made it dance around like a puppet and eventually she took it. Heheh


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## Psychobunny (Oct 18, 2011)

Yeah, she kind of bites the end off and sucks out the filling :blink: !!

So they are not just attacted to movement. The pupea is certainly not moving, it's just laying

on the floor with a bunch of other droppings and stuff.

So they are smart enough to know these have yummies inside!!


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## meaganelise9 (Oct 18, 2011)

I wonder if they can smell it.


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## leviatan (Oct 18, 2011)

I think your mantid saw movement when you drop pupae. That is the reason of this behawiour


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## gripen (Oct 18, 2011)

meaganelise9 said:


> I wonder if they can smell it.


mantids have no sense of smell.


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## meaganelise9 (Oct 18, 2011)

Really? Dang.


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## lunarstorm (Oct 18, 2011)

Frederick Prete's "The Praying Mantis" has a chapter dedicated to prey recognition (pg. 141-179). It reads like a textbook but if you can wade through the jargon the detailed experiments are pretty cool. And there's apparently still a lot for scientists to study and learn regarding the "neural underpinnings" and the visual system (e.g. how does it interface with the motor system, how does it vary with motivations such as hunger, thirst, reproductive status, etc.)


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## Rick (Oct 19, 2011)

leviatan said:


> I think your mantid saw movement when you drop pupae. That is the reason of this behawiour


This is why.


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## lancaster1313 (Oct 19, 2011)

Rick said:


> This is why.


If you move the container and frass rolls or moves, they will sometimes grab that as well.  When they figure out that it is not good, they usually drop it or even fling it away. :mellow:


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## kmsgameboy (Oct 20, 2011)

patrickfraser said:


> Mine does


Is it just me or does anyone else see Groucho Marx when they look at that picture? :lol:


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## ismart (Oct 20, 2011)

gripen said:


> mantids have no sense of smell.


Not true! There antennae are used for smell.


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## rs4guy (Oct 20, 2011)

kmsgameboy said:


> Is it just me or does anyone else see Groucho Marx when they look at that picture? :lol:


Haha I see that now. Love the Marx Bros. My dad is a fanatic, knows all the routines/lines. All the Creo needs is a painted on Stache....


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## mykey14 (Oct 21, 2011)

if i drop a non- moving/living thing in front of any of my mantids they stare at it and then begin to slowly move forward, then the snatch it up, take a little nibble, and depending on wether or not they like it they will ether drop it or continue munching.


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## Psychobunny (Oct 21, 2011)

leviatan said:


> I think your mantid saw movement when you drop pupae. That is the reason of this behawiour


That makes sense, she did see me drop it in and stared at it a few seconds before snatching it up.

It's like, sometimes there will be several crickets or roaches inside a net cube and they have bunched

up together in a hidding spot so the mantis cant see them.

I have to stimulate activity by tapping and misting.

Then they run around and up the walls so the mantis can find them.


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## gripen (Oct 21, 2011)

ismart said:


> Not true! There antennae are used for smell.


true that! sorry i meant they don't "smell" like we smell.


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## PhilinYuma (Oct 21, 2011)

gripen said:


> true that! sorry i meant they don't "smell" like we smell.


A woman once told Samuel Johnson, "Mr Johnson, you smell", to which he replied, "No madam, you smell; I stink". I hope that that clears everything up!


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## gripen (Oct 21, 2011)

PhilinYuma said:


> A woman once told Samuel Johnson, "Mr Johnson, you smell", to which he replied, "No madam, you smell; I stink". I hope that that clears everything up!


Thanks Phill! Hahahahahahahhahahah


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