minomantis
Well-known member
I've noticed that when I feed my mantis a certain type of insect a certain way for too long, they often get lazy when it comes to their hunting skills. My mantids stay on the screen part of my windows in my house. I think it's a great way for them to feel the wind, catch some rays, and for me to still have the feeling of raising them. I usually catch flies from outside, release them in the screen and close the actual window so the fly cant escape but allows them to fly around and the mantis still actually has to hunt.
A couple times I've seen my mantis instead of catching the fly, actually pinning the fly on the screen and deliver the fatal blow that way. After a couple times, that's the way he would catch his flies. When I take him out and put him on a leaf, he tries the same technique and it doesn't work. Granted it only takes about two to three tries of missing before he realizes he has to change tactics, but I think it's amusing how a mantis can learn to eat one way and get in a routine and have to reach back in it's "bag of tricks" when put in a different situation.
A couple times I've seen my mantis instead of catching the fly, actually pinning the fly on the screen and deliver the fatal blow that way. After a couple times, that's the way he would catch his flies. When I take him out and put him on a leaf, he tries the same technique and it doesn't work. Granted it only takes about two to three tries of missing before he realizes he has to change tactics, but I think it's amusing how a mantis can learn to eat one way and get in a routine and have to reach back in it's "bag of tricks" when put in a different situation.
