Mantids Are Intelligent

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

Help Support Mantidforum:

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

MantidBro

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
2,784
Reaction score
423
Location
MASS
Some incredible things about mantids that I've witnessed with mine.

1. Mantids have likes and dislikes.

Majesty will fight me to go in her cage, or fight me when I take her off the window screen or take her off a branch from outside but will eagerly let me take her out of her container. This is probably because mantids have excellent eye sight (60').

2. Mantids recognize they're mantids.

Which is why when they see another mantid, they become defensive. Is this merely instinct or do they learn through reflections?

3. Mantids know their reflection isn't another mantid.

Majesty looks in the mirror at herself but doesn't become defensive, only looks. She then tries to climb up the mirror.

4. Mantids learn.

When I first got her, Majesty had a hard time eating from my hand but now she does it like a pro.

5. Mantids can tell the difference between their owners and others.

When I first got her, Majesty wouldn't go on anybody else's hand, even when we tried to make her. I believe this is because they have an incredible sense of smell. She has now gotten used to be held by others, though.

6. Mantids make eye contact.

I think most mantid owners are aware of this, though it may be difficult for some to realize what they're looking at. One way I tell is that when looking into the mantids eye, you will see one black dot at the top. When there are two black dots, or the dot is in the middle of the eye, she's making eye contact.

 
1. I think it has to do with the mantids wanting to be as high as possible. When I let mine climb up to their cages, they go in happily.

2. If they see other bugs approximately the same size, they also become defensive. Put them by a smaller mantis and they'd eat it like any other bug.

3. Do mirrors work for compound eyes? I don't know!

4. I agree.

5. Never experienced it, so I can't refute it.

6. my mantids do this too but I'm sure there's another explanation for it.

 
Mime454 said:
1. I think it has to do with the mantids wanting to be as high as possible. When I let mine climb up to their cages, they go in happily.

2. If they see other bugs approximately the same size, they also become defensive. Put them by a smaller mantis and they'd eat it like any other bug.

3. Do mirrors work for compound eyes? I don't know!

4. I agree.

5. Never experienced it, so I can't refute it.

6. my mantids do this too but I'm sure there's another explanation for it.
Click to expand...
1. Yeah mantids tend to climb upward, this is what they desire, so when you to try stop them, they try to avoid you. My mantid never goes in happily, when I put her in, she becomes frantic.

2. My mantids have never reacted so defensively to another bug before, even if it was large. The most that happened was that Sir ran away from a large leaf bug. But when it came to Majesty, she wouldn't run, she's actually freeze in place and flatten out her abdomen, raise her arms, then run when she found the chance.

3. How would they not be able to see in the mirror, even with compound eyes? I'm also not positive but it makes more sense to me that they'd be able to see the mirror, the same as they are able to watch TV.

6. I'm also not sure why they look into your eyes, probably because they move and I place my eyes directly in front of hers so they're easy to see. She also looks at other parts of my face but more often than not, it's my eyes.

 
I know my dead leaf looks at me!

It keeps it's eye on me and won't look away even when I move stuff behind it or poke it from behind.

Creepy!

 
I thought the black "pupil" was just an optical illusion that comes from their unique faceted eyes..... I know they don't have actual pupils. I'm pretty sure though, that their range of eyesight is a good 300 degrees because their head rotates.

 
kotomi said:
I thought the black "pupil" was just an optical illusion that comes from their unique faceted eyes..... I know they don't have actual pupils. I'm pretty sure though, that their range of eyesight is a good 300 degrees because their head rotates.
Click to expand...
I dont mean the black dot is a pupil, its just about where it is and how you can tell what she's looking at. I was using the black dots as reference points. They have great eye sight though, for sure.

 
fleurdejoo said:
I know my dead leaf looks at me!

It keeps it's eye on me and won't look away even when I move stuff behind it or poke it from behind.

Creepy!
Click to expand...
They seem to be very curious about humans! Lol. Especially our eyes, they dont see eyes like that in their natural habitat.

 
The black dot exists in all insect with compound eyes. It's an optical illusion. We can't unsee it but in reality the black dots don't exist. It has to do with the eye reflection of the compound eyes. The darken areas is where the light is absorbed and aligned with our eyesight. It makes that area black.

 
Domanating said:
The black dot exists in all insect with compound eyes. It's an optical illusion. We can't unsee it but in reality the black dots don't exist. It has to do with the eye reflection of the compound eyes. The darken areas is where the light is absorbed and aligned with our eyesight. It makes that area black.
Click to expand...
I might be wrong, but I thought that that part of the eye was the fovea, but most sensitive part of the eye. If not, is the fovea even visible?

 
Domanating said:
The black dot exists in all insect with compound eyes. It's an optical illusion. We can't unsee it but in reality the black dots don't exist. It has to do with the eye reflection of the compound eyes. The darken areas is where the light is absorbed and aligned with our eyesight. It makes that area black.
Click to expand...
Exactly. :) I find it interesting how our eyes see two of those black dots when they raise their head and look into your eyes. It's our own eyes being confused by the mantid's eyes.

 
TySAAAN said:
So they aren't making eye contact? I'm confused.
Click to expand...
I feel they are but I can't exactly prove it. I myself use the black dots to tell. If there are two or the black dot is in the middle of the eye, it's looking at you. I know I am right about this but I can't prove it because I am not a mantid. Lol.

 
Mime454 said:
I might be wrong, but I thought that that part of the eye was the fovea, but most sensitive part of the eye. If not, is the fovea even visible?
Click to expand...
I don't think it is visible. From my knowledge the fovea is a fixed internal area of an eye where the vision is more acute. Since those black dots move while you change your angle of view i doubt they could be the fovea. Their eyes are just fooling ours.

TySAAAN said:
So they aren't making eye contact? I'm confused.
Click to expand...
Technically they can make eye contact with you at any angle. Even from behind they can still look at you. Only when they turn their heads towards you it's when they want to focus on you. So with black dots or not, when their heads are facing you they are focusing on your face, or eyes or whatever motion that attracted them.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Domanating said:
I don't think it is visible. From my knowledge the fovea is a fixed internal area of an eye where the vision is more acute. Since those black dots move while you change your angle of view i doubt they could be the fovea. Their eyes are just fooling ours.

Technically they can make eye contact with you at any angle. Even from behind they can still look at you. Only when they turn their heads towards you it's when they want to focus on you. So with black dots or not, when their heads are facing you they are focusing on your face, or eyes or whatever motion that attracted them.
Click to expand...
Oh really? I didnt think a mantid could see you from behind, she never makes a motion when I'm behind her, only in front. Like you said maybe its because she's not FOCUSING. Though how do you know that? Is there evidence found online? thats how i base what she is looking at, too - if shes facing you and her eyes are directly in front of yours. When this happens our eyes get confused and you either see two black dots in the middle of the eye or one. Depends on your angle.

 
MantidBro said:
Oh really? I didnt think a mantid could see you from behind, she never makes a motion when I'm behind her, only in front. Like you said maybe its because she's not FOCUSING. Though how do you know that? Is there evidence found online? thats how i base what she is looking at, too - if shes facing you and her eyes are directly in front of yours. When this happens our eyes get confused and you either see two black dots in the middle of the eye or one. Depends on your angle.
Click to expand...
Check the praying-mantis heads more closely. Their eyes cover almost every angle. They have a 360 degree field of view. I've seen multiple times when prey is moving right behind them they can turn their heads and upper thorax all the way to face whatever bug got their interest. It's quite a very fast and interesting motion. If whatever bug they saw got their interest, then they'll slowly move and face their entire body towards the bug and attempt to snatch it.

You claim that your mantis never tries focus on you when you are behind her? Well, it's pretty normal. The only times i've witnessed such things is when I enter the room with all my mantids. From complete quiet and motionless something starts to move, a door and me. So they will focus on me to see what is it. Once they get used to all the commotion they won't react that much. If you're looking at the mantis from behind, she is still looking at you but it's not of her interest so she won't turn her head. It's not a threat, it's not food... So she won't bother.

Here have a look one of my female Europeans. You can see that her eye keeps on going to the back of the head. You can even see the black dot:

p1010004cw.jpg


You can also look at a chameleon. The chameleon's eyes move independently to watch for potential prey or threats. When, for example, prey is found they will then align both eyes on it so they can know precisely how far is it and if they can grab it. Ever tried to grab something with only one eye open? It's a bit tougher because you need the other eye to have depth perception. Same thing applies to chameleons and mantids and pretty much all other hunting animals. They need both eyes locked on the same target to know how far the prey is until they are close enough to strike.

So whenever you mantis looks directly at you, she is or paying attention to the mouth, blinking eyes, anything twitchy or she's simply looking around making measurements of distances.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry, mantids don't focus, they use depth perception...the reason mantids sway side to side when look at a particular object such as food or a distant perch is because they are judging the distance with depth perception(dont get thIs confused wIth swayIng back and forth to mImIc a leaf In the wInd; lIke when the mantis is just sitting there eating a meal it just caught (like Idolos)) . (Mantises don't have a cornea or a lens to focus light and in this case focus on objects... (all objects reflect light, that is how you and I see things; the object say a red pen reflects the red spectrum in the light spectrum while absorbing all the other colors...like a yellow daisy absorbs all the colors in the spectrum ROYGBV (red orange yellow green blue violet) except yellow and reflects this color back...mantis judge distance with depth perception....

All the best,

Andrew

 

Latest posts

Top