# Mantids and their prey



## Mantis Lady (Jun 19, 2018)

I don't know if this is the right forum section to post this but this came into my mind.

I was feeding some of my mantids today: a few crickets, a grasshopper.  But when I saw my mantids grab their prey they dont struggle much. They seem not to fight for their lives.  they just sit thre and wait to get eaten. I have seen only one big grasshopper trying to escape from Cochise by using his jumping legs. Not it worked: Cochise moved with the jumps still eating.

Some of the little (Hunter today) ones grab their prey and start from behind and head will be the last piece that ends in their stomach. The cricket did nothing, just moving his antennea.  I don't think something eating you alive bite by bite will feel comfy.

To make a story stort: why don't insects fight for their lives when ending up in mantids front legs?


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## Chemz (Jun 19, 2018)

I don't think most insects have the right kind of nervous system to be able to experience pain, but they can sense danger so I dunno. I've had several grasshoppers struggle to escape though.


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## River Dane (Jun 19, 2018)

I noticed that some insects put up more of a fight than others. I feed my Mantids various garden bugs, including flies and hover flies, both of which consistently struggle after being caught. After a few seconds, though, they subdue. Their resistance becomes a mere wiggling of the legs, and then they cease all movement. 

Meanwhile, lacewings and unfortunate male mantids tend to submit much sooner.

My best answer would be a quote from Quora, 



> *Insects have ganglia, which are nerve bundles, located in each of their body segments and which control the legs, wings and other parts in that segment.* Above their mouth they have a larger ganglion connected to their eyes and antennae, this might be considered a brain, though recall the male preying mantis that continues to function after losing his head.


So it’s likely the ganglia are destroyed almost immediately when your mantids grab the prey, so they don’t have a chance to struggle much.

Bugs are really interesting. I like to think they are conscious organisms. But at the same time, for the sake of prey insects, I also hope they don’t experience pain.

On a side note, I think it’s worth noting that some ants passed the mirror test, a test supposedly able to test for an organism’s self-awareness. The only thing is that it gives a lot of false negatives. Some animals don’t care much about their reflection, so they dont actually  pass, even if they are self-aware. Whether or not it gives false positives is unknown to me, but it seems unlikely.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 19, 2018)

I feed my mantids wild caught moths and flies, and they put up quite the struggle sometimes!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 20, 2018)

River Dane said:


> So it’s likely the ganglia are destroyed almost immediately when your mantids grab the prey, so they don’t have a chance to struggle much.
> 
> Bugs are really interesting. I like to think they are conscious organisms. But at the same time, for the sake of prey insects, I also hope they don’t experience pain.


Bugs are indeed interesting. Half insects walk around when I share one between 2 mantids. I hope that bugs don't feel pain like we do.


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