Mantis jerks up head when eating

[Okoboji22]

My first mantis sticky legs when eating would sometimes jerk up her head almost like a spasm. I never heard of this anywhere else. Why did she do this?

 

[mantiseater]

I noticed mantids do this when they have a single leg in their mouth. I have no idea why

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

Without images or videos, nobody really can tell. But, I've seen mantids jerk their head up seemingly to help swallow food.

 

[Okoboji22]

I noticed mantids do this when they have a single leg in their mouth. I have no idea why

thinking about it your right how it's only when a leg is in there mouth

 

[Ranitomeya]

When mine are having working on a small piece of food stuck on their face that they can feel and taste, but can't get their mandibles around, they shake it off as though it were a piece of debris.

 

[Okoboji22]

When mine are having working on a small piece of food stuck on their face that they can feel and taste, but can't get their mandibles around, they shake it off as though it were a piece of debris.

That's not exactly what I'm talking about. Sometimes right after she caught her food and tryed to bite a leg her head wouldn't shake, it would just spasm straight up.

 

[Ranitomeya]

Hmm, perhaps just a reflex to try to reach the end of the leg so they're less likely to start at the middle and drop a piece of leg?

 

[MantidBro]

When mine are having working on a small piece of food stuck on their face that they can feel and taste, but can't get their mandibles around, they shake it off as though it were a piece of debris.

I think she has the right idea for the most apart. Mine do it basically whenever they are trying to get rid of something thats in their mouth. Like a leg, or a wing, or just something that they dont want cause theyd rather get back to the juicey part of the meal. Lol.