anthony2001a
Active member
Stories like this make me think that mantis intelligence has not been sufficiently researched, which was why I made my original post. There's anecdotal stories to indicate that mantids have more intellgence than your average house fly or typical insect. It's instinctive for insects to fear large animals as potential predators (i.e. bats, birds, cats, etc), yet some species of mantids seem able to go beyond this fear, making them interesting pets. Much like vertebrate fish, they can change their behavior, apparently learning to associate people with food. Being able to train an insect means that the insect can learn, implying more than simple instinct at work.I've also noticed my Chinese mantids waving their arms and turning to follow my movements as I walk past their enclosures. But, I've had them do a couple of other things that definitely suggest recognition to me.1) If they were outside of their enclosures and I ignored their gestures, they would fly to me. This happened often enough that I didn't think it was a random event.
2) They also seem to have a fascination with human faces, and are always trying to climb up to mine. Normally, I would associate this behavior with a mantid's climbing instincts, but if I am holding the mantid in my hand and raise my hand above my head, they would climb down to my face.
I think the fact that a mantis will gently lick the salt from your skin without trying to bite, and will turn and attack another insect in the same instant, shows a little intelligence. Also, I've had my mantids readily come to my hand, but shy away from the hand of a stranger. Again, this appears to be a simple form of recognition.
I'm not sure how one would be able to test insect intelligence, but I do think it's not studied enough in the case of the mantis.
Anthony