I have a couple cats and perhaps I should have expected a Mantid, same sort of predator as a cat I guess, to exhibit similar hunting characteristics but cats are smart mammals. How big can a Mantid cortex be!? My Mantid, JC (Jackie Chan) acts much the same as the cats. When I put her into a new enclosure, I have two and trade off during cleaning, she just like a cat examines every inch of the new enclosure. I am not being anthropomorphic, she is very clearly checking it out and likely memorizing the geometry for future hunting purposes?
JC also seems to remember where she made her last catch and returns to that spot and today I watched the way she caught and ate a large cricket. Small crickets she just grabs but this grasshopper size cricket had very strong hind legs and though it was if not as long as JC, it was probably heavier and very strong with large muscles in those jumping legs. To make a meal of the cricket JC hung from the roof of her enclosure, completely unlike the way she "bulrushes" small crickets. She grabbed the cricket and lifted it off the ground thereby neutralizing the leg muscles. She just gobbled it up from the head first. I can't believe she ate the whole thing. Where does she put it. She had two small crickets earlier today!
What a neat pet! Gruesome but fascinating! Thanks to all here for the valuable info you have shared with me.
JC also seems to remember where she made her last catch and returns to that spot and today I watched the way she caught and ate a large cricket. Small crickets she just grabs but this grasshopper size cricket had very strong hind legs and though it was if not as long as JC, it was probably heavier and very strong with large muscles in those jumping legs. To make a meal of the cricket JC hung from the roof of her enclosure, completely unlike the way she "bulrushes" small crickets. She grabbed the cricket and lifted it off the ground thereby neutralizing the leg muscles. She just gobbled it up from the head first. I can't believe she ate the whole thing. Where does she put it. She had two small crickets earlier today!
What a neat pet! Gruesome but fascinating! Thanks to all here for the valuable info you have shared with me.