Wanting to eat upside down?

[Jynxer]

Hi, I have a question regarding my Chinese mantis. He's about an inch and a half. Whenever I feed him flies, I just drop them in and he snags them right away, then he proceeds to eat them. But when I flip over the lid to get a better look at him, he eats for about another minute and drops the fly. Is it just easier for him to eat upside down like that? Because he will eat the whole thing if he's upside down. Thanks guys!

Jake

 

[Rick]

Most mantids do this. I assume it is easier to hold struggling prey upside down than it would be the other way. Upside down the prey cannot get a grip on anything to try and get away.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Good observation, Jake! This behaviour seems to be a commomplace among mantids. It is often suggested that by doing so, the mantis distances himself from his left overs. While this is true, I find it unlikely that this is the reason for his behavior, since many predators like wasps and ant lions do not practice it. The digestive tract of mantids is somewhat different from that of many predatory insects, and it may be, that the upside down position facilitates passage of food through the gut.

If anyone has more knowledge on this, supported by evidence, I for one, would be very interested to hear it.

 

[jameslongo]

It seems kinda strange that your mantid would rather give up his meal than hold onto it right-side up. Never had this problem with my Tenodera sp..

 

[Eldur]

My Chinese really like to eat standing on their legs. One of mine was standing on the lid (that was upside down, lying on the table) and eating, when I put the lid back on the jar he dropped the food. So I had to pick it up and give it to him again and I didn´t dare to try this again if he should drop it again and not want it anymore. They eat often like this but also often by hangin on the side.

 

[Jynxer]

He did it yet again, with a smaller fly. I guess I'm just going to have to let him eat it like he wants. Thanks!

Jake

 

[hibiscusmile]

Yea, if he eats it that way, then why change him, I like to watch tv when I eat, hah! what's tv?

 

[tonyi]

My orchid mantis will move to where the prey is and take up a good ambush position. Then he'll eat sitting in the position he caught his prey, most of the time. I have, however, seen him move while eating to re-orient himself. For example, a while ago he caught a fly while sitting vertically on a branch, head up. Soon after he had starting eating, he moved to a more horizontal position.

On a side note, I have seen him "throw" half-eaten flies across the whole vivarium a few times. I have no idea why, since I usually see bits and pieces of prey underneath his favorite ambush sites. My guess is that the remains of the flies sometimes get stuck to his raptorial legs and that's the way to get rid of them.

 

[Rick]

He did it yet again, with a smaller fly. I guess I'm just going to have to let him eat it like he wants. Thanks!Jake

I guess you missed a couple replies stating why they do this. Most of them eat that way. It is normal.

 

[Jynxer]

No, I read them, but they were contradicting. A few said it was normal, a few said it wasn't.

 

[jameslongo]

No, I read them, but they were contradicting. A few said it was normal, a few said it wasn't.

I probably fall into the "abnormal" category regarding my statement. You got me wrong. I didn't say it was abnormal for a mantid to hang upside down while feasting. This is very much the norm. I just said that my mantids are greedy little buggers and won't stop eating until they have shoved all of their food into their gobs :lol: I imagine they would spend their whole lives upside down if they could.