Pure Amazing!!

[minomantis]

Ok so I put my female T. sinensis on the rose bush today and watched her for about a little more then an hour (I have no life during the summer, don't judge) lol But as I was watching her, the following happened. I put her on the rose bush and it took her a coulple of minutes to find a place to be comfortable and that she liked. She picked a place right above a rather large funnel web spiders web. About 20 minutes later, a fly I guess was moving too fast and got caught up in the web struggled and the spider flew out snatched it up and took it back. My mantis actually tried to strike at the spider but it happened soo quickly that she missed her opportunity. Now about 10 minutes of processing (I have no idea what was going on in her mind) she used one of her forelegs to toggle with the web. It seemed very deliberate! But the spider came out to the spot where she was messing with the web and BAM got the spider! This literally BLEW my mind! This is a higher level of thinking and it was truly impressive to watch. I knew mantids were smart but not that smart! woooow!!

 

[brancsikia339]

Impressive! Mantids do have some intellectual qualities. You'd be surprised

 

[hierodula]

Lol thats awesome. Its interesting to see how animals learn. Humans only use about 8-12% of their brains. I wonder how much a mantis uses.

 

[Mvalenz]

That is frickin awesome!! I wish I could of seen that.

 

[sueb4653]

+1 SAME HERE WOULD HAVE BEEN COOL TO SEE

 

[sinensispsyched]

WOW! THIS WILL BLOW SCIENTISTS' MINDS!

 

[fleurdejoo]

Coolio!

 

[happy1892]

I do not think he did it on on purpose but maybe. Maybe he still was focused on the spider (they do not usually focus that long!) and wanted to get closer to find it and so it looked like he did it on purpose.

Lol thats awesome. Its interesting to see how animals learn. Humans only use about 8-12% of their brains. I wonder how much a mantis uses.

I doubt that is true. I guess it depends a lot on whole lot of things, like if you are blank you are barley using your brain and when you are playing just chess hard you are using your left brain mostly (maybe only, the right side is just about a sleep when pros play chess) while when a person plays ba-duk I have read that both sides of the brain are going full blast so I guess it is what you are doing.

 

[Rick]

Most likely a neat coincidence. You would have to see it done many times in order to prove it was on purpose. Interesting to think it could have been.

 

[Mime454]

Lol thats awesome. Its interesting to see how animals learn. Humans only use about 8-12% of their brains. I wonder how much a mantis uses.

This statistic is just some made up nonsense that has entered popular culture. Human brains require an incredible amount of resources, and Evolution wouldn't have selected for them if they weren't going to be used.

 

[aNisip]

I do not think he did it on on purpose but maybe. Maybe he still was focused on the spider (they do not usually focus that long!) and wanted to get closer to find it and so it looked like he did it on purpose.

I agree, it probably saw the spider, went "looking" for it, got closer to the web and accidentally put her leg in the web and whilst trying to free the leg, attracted spidy, then wham! nice spidy snack...

Like Rick said 'neat coincidence'....

 

[happy1892]

I agree, it probably saw the spider, went "looking" for it, got closer to the web and accidentally put her leg in the web and whilst trying to free the leg, attracted spidy, then wham! nice spidy snack...

Like Rick said 'neat coincidence'....

He did not say the mantis tried to free his leg. Or maybe I did not read that. I often miss lines or read the line again.

 

[hierodula]

This statistic is just some made up nonsense that has entered popular culture. Human brains require an incredible amount of resources, and Evolution wouldn't have selected for them if they weren't going to be used.

Ya ur right I think, that was just a stat floating in my head from a documentary from when I was little I think, but still, one has to admit that the amount of calculation that goes into a mantis' strike is crazy!!

 

[Mime454]

Ya ur right I think, that was just a stat floating in my head from a documentary from when I was little I think, but still, one has to admit that the amount of calculation that goes into a mantis' strike is crazy!!

He's definitely, but also think about the calculations involved in catching a ball. We don't even think about hyperbolic arcs or anything like that, the mind just does it. It is so amazing.

 

[Mvalenz]

Well there is only one way to find out if it was deliberate. Have any more funnel spiders in your yard? But be careful it can turn ugly for your mantis.

 

[gs304]

Planning is an ability developed by a few birds and mammals species. When it appears among these animals, it is generally very poor. Insects definitely can't plan. Their "brain" is very simple, too simple to predict the results of what they are doing.

It must have been an accident.

 

[Mime454]

Planning is an ability developed by a few birds and mammals species. When it appears among these animals, it is generally very poor. Insects definitely can't plan. Their "brain" is very simple, too simple to predict the results of what they are doing.

It must have been an accident.

It could be programmed by the genes. It's not as if bees are intellectually figuring out that hexagons are the best shape for their homes. An Antlion isn't calculating acceleration due to gravity when it builds it's trap. The same could be said for spiders, viruses, and to some degree humans.

I'm not saying that this wasn't a coincidence, but I'm also not saying that it's impossible to have such an impressive programmed behavior.

 

[gs304]

It could be programmed by the genes. It's not as if bees are intellectually figuring out that hexagons are the best shape for their homes. An Antlion isn't calculating acceleration due to gravity when it builds it's trap. The same could be said for spiders, viruses, and to some degree humans.

I'm not saying that this wasn't a coincidence, but I'm also not saying that it's impossible to have such an impressive programmed behavior.

I see what you mean, but your examples are different from what happened to this mantis. These are actions programmed in genes, that's true, but they don't need any analysing. It's just instinct and something automatic. Bees don't think why they build hexagons, It's just how they do It.

That mantis just can't have been aware of the fact, that spider reacts for vibrations, that she can cause them and that spider will appear on the web after she moves it. Too complicated.

That's how I see it:

After attack the mantis was just standing where she was. Then she decided to move and checked the surface where she was going to step as the mantises normally do - by touching it with her tarsus. The spiderwas alarmed by vibrations, he came and she caught him.

 

[Mime454]

I think that you're looking at the wrong way. Mantids could have been selected to play in or be curious of funnel webs because there was a spider in it, increasing their caloric intake and fitness.

I don't think that a mantis possesses the kind of higher level thought that it would take to realize why he was messing with the web, it think it's the same sort of thing as the ant lion.

I'm just arguing that it's not impossible for this to be a programmed response. I'm not arguing that this isn't a coincidence, or that other mantids should be observed doing this, but I think it might be interesting for further study.