Exploded mantis

Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Mantidforum

Help Support Mantidforum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
OGIGA

OGIGA

Dead Leaf Mantis
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
2,943
Reaction score
0
Location
Northern California
So in my front yard, I found a mantis stuck in some shrubs. That wasn't the only thing wrong with it. Sorry to gross you guys out, but here are the pictures of her.

I think she exploded but I don't know if a parasite caused this or what.

IMG_2769.JPG


IMG_2770.JPG


IMG_2771.JPG


IMG_2772.JPG


 
Looks like a parasite could have done that... though the bird and foot theory of Andrew are fairly plausable as well.

Time to call...

Mythbusters_title_screen_qjpreviewth.jpg


the myth of the exploding mantis

 
I know it wasn't stepped on because of where I found it. A bird attack should have shown missing parts because I know a bird would love to eat it. I think maybe she may have fallen from a tree and the thorns slashed her open. Maybe she was just too fat and exploded?

Anyway, I thought of putting her in the freezer, but I don't think I want this too close to food...

 
put it in a plastic baggie and then put it in the freezer. or cut its head off with scissors or something, if its still alive... itd be better than dying from that.

 
I think I'll leave her out there. It's nature anyway. She'll still be alive without her head. She just can't see and can't eat, which is probably even more suffering. :(

 
That mantis was attacked by something or stepped on/crushed.

 
How about putting back in what you can and taping the side? If she doesn't die anyway it would make it easier to care for her since her food wouldn't be chewing on her innards. A bird goes for the head and a shoe would cause more damage, I'd say a thorn mishap.

 
With that damage I dont think i would feed it to yours, nor do i think i would keep it .. probably best to put it under a wooden board and jump on it .. quick squish = no pain ..... but hey .. maybe you can save her if you realllllllyyyyy want to.

 
Geoff_K said:
probably best to put it under a wooden board and jump on it .. quick squish = no pain
Click to expand...
WHAT THE heck!? why would...nevermind, I'm not even going to say anything else... *sigh*

 
Last edited by a moderator:
OGIGA said:
I think I'll leave her out there. It's nature anyway. She'll still be alive without her head. She just can't see and can't eat, which is probably even more suffering. :(
Click to expand...
Ahh, am I missing something? Do mantids not have brains in their heads? brains that, when severed from the body stop functioning? 0 brain function w/ no life support=dead in my book... ( I understand males can continue to mate without a head, but, I had always understood that to be just the nerves quivering. )

then again, I could be wrong, I'm no expert in mantis anatomy.

 
Nevermind, I don't think you get what I'm trying to say. I'm not going to try to argue, I'm not going to let my beliefs get in your way.

 
Bugs have more primitive systems then we do, so yes, cutting off their heads will leave them still alive for several minutes to several months depending on what bug you're talking about.

Have you noticed how crickets always struggle, even if they are half eaten by a mantis? They have primitive minds. The only thing they think is to eat, survive, breed. No bug wants to die, they would probably rather a slow death then a forced one. They want to live no matter what happens to them, it's just the way that the natural bug instinct works. At least, in my opinion that is the way it works. And in nature, there isn't a 'quick-and-painless' way of dying for a crippled mantis.

 

Latest posts

Top