Mantis sleep?????

[sk8erkho]

I saw a reference before about mantis dreams. Don't know if this is true or not but it kind of seems they do sleep or something similar to sleep. I let my dudes hang out on the curtian during the days and recently had to go into the hospital. When I returned home (hospitalized unplanned) my nephews tell me that the mantids had not moved from the same spots since I left, which was about three days. :blink: So, I went over to them and waved my hand slowly across the front of their faces trying to see if they would respond. Initiallly they did not. It was not until I actually touched their antennae that they began to sway from side to side and then looked up at me and said "good day,mate!! where the heck have you been?!!" Naaah, but they did sway and then look right over at me and then scanned the room over tomy boys. So, my youngest nephew says, "see auntie, they sleep just like us, only they hang upsidedown like vampire bats and stay like that until you mess with them!!"

This is not the only time this has happened it's been like this since I began rearing them. So, maybe they do sleep for long periods or are in deep thought or something! Just kidding on the thought part!

 

[Rick]

Mantids often sit in one place for awhile. They don't sleep like we do if at all.

 

[OGIGA]

In my experience, I seen the "sleeping effect" too. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I have to "wake" the mantises up too. I don't know if they actually have a sleeping state like us.

 

[joossa]

Insect "sleep" is actually like a mini-dormancy or hibernation if you will. It's called torpor. Mammals and other animals experiance it at different degrees depending on temperature, photoperiod, intake of nutrients, etc.

You can read about it HERE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpor

 

[Gurd]

interesting, so it's like a mini hibernation?

 

[joossa]

interesting, so it's like a mini hibernation?

Yeah, you can look at it that way.

 

[mantis shadow]

i agree with the mammal bit that go into almost hibernation type mode,

has happened to 3 chinchillas, 2 rats and a squiral, all we thought had died,

but put them under a warm grill or a very low temp in the oven for 5 or 10 mins and they

all came round after a further 5 mins or so wraped in a towel.

got feeling it works with hampsters also lizards if i remember correctly but cant be 100%

sure. (so dont go baking your iggy just yet, also all were warmed in an electric oven, not gas / flame.)

(Please note no animals were harmed in the making of this posted reply)

 

[macro junkie]

All my mantids get light 24/7

 

[sk8erkho]

That makes sense. Very cool thanks for the link!!