Mantid Slang

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flybycat

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My grandmother was born in Oklahoma in 1905 and she once told me that when she was growing up there they called mantids "Devil Horses." I was wondering if anyone else had ever heard mantids in their neck of the woods referred to by any other name.

Marc

 
Never heard of it before, sorry...

I could tell you a Rungus Myth In my Hometown... (The Tip Of Borneo a.k.a Kudat)

I'm a Rungus person and Rungus is 1 of the 32 tribes in the Sabahan Land...

Rungus has a special name for Mantids and is called 'Bozon' and in Murut language is 'Boyot'

And why the Rungus people called the Mantis 'Bozon', here is the reason...

According to the Rungus myths, When harvesting season arrived, people will harvest the paddy fields and will likely to fine many Mantids on the the very top of the Paddy plants.If there are many Mantis on the top of the Paddy plants, It will be a fine and sunny day to harvest the paddy plants.But if they find many Mantids hiding under the paddy plants and less Mantids go out, it will be a Rainy day for harvesting...

I do believe this myth...

 
im my town people call mantids walking sticks :blink: ......they call the native walking sticks the same thing even though they look so very different lol

my mom even calls my mantids "walking sticks" not sure they will ever leran the difference between mantids and walking sticks

 
oh ill also ad people here believe they have a venomous bite........but i think we might have a stick insect native to my area that squirts a toxic spray not sure. until recently my mom thought the same but now she will see mantids on the porch and cup them in her hands and bring them to me :D

 
DeadInTheBasement said:
oh ill also ad people here believe they have a venomous bite........but i think we might have a stick insect native to my area that squirts a toxic spray not sure. until recently my mom thought the same but now she will see mantids on the porch and cup them in her hands and bring them to me :D
Click to expand...
Some stick Insects do spray, but not Toxic, Mint spray...

@Katnapper:Welcome ;)

 
People here think they are illegal to kill and that they're an endangered species protected by international law. Most people that see them when they come to my house ask how I've obtained a protected animal. I've been asked by several people where I got a license to own them. Lol. I tell them they're quite common and not at all hard to find and they always act surprised. I don't know why it's such a common myth in my area.

Also, my grandmother has told me since I caught them as a young boy that they would bring me luck in life. I wish she was even close to right. :huh:

 
mantismarc said:
My grandmother was born in Oklahoma in 1905 and she once told me that when she was growing up there they called mantids "Devil Horses." I was wondering if anyone else had ever heard mantids in their neck of the woods referred to by any other name.Marc
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"DEvil Horses"!!! I have actually heard of it back in 1991 when i was in Oklahoma State U at Stillwater. Unfortunately I don't remember his name but he is a nice old guy.

Anzilleoflippy said:
Never heard of it before, sorry...I could tell you a Rungus Myth In my Hometown... (The Tip Of Borneo a.k.a Kudat)

I'm a Rungus person and Rungus is 1 of the 32 tribes in the Sabahan Land...

Rungus has a special name for Mantids and is called 'Bozon' and in Murut language is 'Boyot'

And why the Rungus people called the Mantis 'Bozon', here is the reason...

According to the Rungus myths, When harvesting season arrived, people will harvest the paddy fields and will likely to fine many Mantids on the the very top of the Paddy plants.If there are many Mantis on the top of the Paddy plants, It will be a fine and sunny day to harvest the paddy plants.But if they find many Mantids hiding under the paddy plants and less Mantids go out, it will be a Rainy day for harvesting...

I do believe this myth...
Click to expand...
Nice Leo. Shame on me although I am a Malaysian i have never heard of this. BUt i have been in the West Malaysia all the time. NOw i know Rungus is one of the Kadazan tribes.

 
Anzilleoflippy said:
Never heard of it before, sorry...I could tell you a Rungus Myth In my Hometown... (The Tip Of Borneo a.k.a Kudat)

I'm a Rungus person and Rungus is 1 of the 32 tribes in the Sabahan Land...

Rungus has a special name for Mantids and is called 'Bozon' and in Murut language is 'Boyot'

And why the Rungus people called the Mantis 'Bozon', here is the reason...

According to the Rungus myths, When harvesting season arrived, people will harvest the paddy fields and will likely to fine many Mantids on the the very top of the Paddy plants.If there are many Mantis on the top of the Paddy plants, It will be a fine and sunny day to harvest the paddy plants.But if they find many Mantids hiding under the paddy plants and less Mantids go out, it will be a Rainy day for harvesting...

I do believe this myth...
Click to expand...
Interesting. If the myth is correct, then the mantids can tell if it is going to rain.

Marc

 
Last edited by a moderator:
mantismarc said:
Interesting. If the myth is correct, then the mantids can tell if it is going to rain.Marc
Click to expand...
Yes this really is interesting, but I think that it is simply good observation rather than a true "myth".

Many insects, most notably bees, stay home when rain is pending, either due to a change in the light or barometric pressure. Orin notes on p.6 of his book (and we've all bought it by now, right?) that mantises will hide in the shrubbery during the night and come out "during the late morning and afternoon" and then retire to shelter in the evening.

Leo: Decades ago (probably before your parents were born!) I sailed up the coast from Brunei to the little seaport of Kudot and took the coast road (for want of a better word!) back to Brunei. The coastal people still lived in long houses, though not as grand, I was told , as those of earlier generations, and, despite the inroads of Christianity, most of the people that I talked to (through several interpreters) were "spirit people" at heart. This is much the same animism that is still pervasive in rural Thailand (seat of Thaksin's power), but while rural Thais were suspicious of not just foreigners (including the "inferior" Burmese) but the government and even each other, the people of your land were unfailingly welcoming and friendly. Vive la difference!

 
No mantis slang here, but I wanted to comment on myths and all.

I lived at a 6,400 foot elevation in the high desert of arizona, where there is alot of sheep and cattle ranching.

The myth, if you will, is when it is going to snow that the cattle will all go to the corner of the fencing. When you see cattle all congregated at the corner they are getting ready to hunker down for the snow storm. Don't remember seeing any mantis' there.

They obviously have their own barometers.

Worked with a guy that was a former merchant marine and he always knew when to tie everything down cause of the wind coming, at least 10 minutes before it came. We worked up high constructing new buildings. We didn't need any sheeting or decking flying off and cutting somebody in half, so his skills were perfect.

 
You find the term "Devil's Horse" often in old literature. It is not only applied to mantids, but also to dragonflies in some cultures (e. g. Eestern Europe). The term dragonfly itself is a very old one.

In some parts of the world mantids are called "Hen strangler" because people think the spiny forelegs will stuck in the chicken's throat if mantids are eaten by it.

The myth of Anzilleoflippy (the heck of a nickname) is rather plausible. If you are somewhat experienced in mantid searching you observe that here are days when you easily find them and others where there are just a few visible. Mantids in open habitats really tend to hide during colder or rainy weather. Hiding from rain in the vegetation is obvious, but in fall many go down in the evening to use the heated up ground when air temperature drops at night. This problem isn't given in Malaysia, but I was several times in Borneo now and there are days when you don't find almost any and others when all seem to pop out the vegetation.

However, in the tropics mantids often come out in the evening or at night. You may search by day and will not find many, but the same plot at night often yealds more mantids. Two reasons are responsible: Temperature and predation pressure. Both are lower at night and so mantids are more exposed than by day. The reason why mantids are primarily active by day in temperate regions are the low temps at night. That mantids are mainly active by day is also an old myth. Their eyes are sensitive at night as well, but in some regions the ambient night tems prohibit much activity. Many tropical species are indeed more active at night than during daytime (e. g. Deroplatys). This seems to contradict the second paragraph, but this isn't the case. Specific and, as such, life history diversity is much higher in the tropics than in temperate regions. "Our" species are rather boring compared to the great mass of tropical taxa.

 

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