How do they do it?

[minomantis]

I'm wondering how do mantises eat spiders without dying or any sign of slowing down. As we all know, spiders have a venom sac which contains the venom. Theoretically shouldn't the venom kill the mantis upon consuming?

 

[Mantis Man13]

Well first of all mantises usually don't eat the whole spider. Whenever I feed my mantis a spider it usually eats the legs only. Since the venom is not contained in the legs the mantis can eat them. Other parts of the spider that do not contain venom could be eaten as well. I have read in a book before that a mantis when eating a spider, such as a black widow, it will only eat the legs because of venom. Basically, mantises are not immune to venom they just eat parts of the spider that does not contain it.

 

[Rick]

Venom doesn't really work that way. Venom must be injected, not ingested, to do harm.

 

[Domanating]

Venom doesn't really work that way. Venom must be injected, not ingested, to do harm.

+1

I read people drank snake venom in some cultures. They say it tastes spicy, lol

Unless there's a wound in the digestive tract, it should be ok. But it's not a general rule. Some venom types may harm if ingested but not as badly as when injected.