Keep Off the Grass
Praying mantises have mastered the art of how not to be seen. Their camouflage has both defensive and offensive applications – it helps them avoid being preyed upon, and it also helps them sneak up on their own prey. The slender green body of this Indian grass mantis mimics a blade of grass – a camouflage perfectly suited for its habitat.
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DownloadKeep Off the Grass
Praying mantises have mastered the art of how not to be seen. Their camouflage has both defensive and offensive applications – it helps them avoid being preyed upon, and it also helps them sneak up on their own prey. The slender green body of this Indian grass mantis mimics a blade of grass – a camouflage perfectly suited for its habitat.
What am I looking at?
This is the head and clawed front legs of an Indian grass mantis (Schizocephala bicornis). Its pointy eyes (1) must have captured the attention of the entomologists who first identified this species; Schizocephala can be translated as “split-headed” (it comes from the Greek words schiza, meaning “splinter,” or a split piece of wood, and kefale, meaning “head”), and bicornis means “two-horned” (it comes from the prefix “bi,” meaning “two,” and the Latin word cornu, meaning “horn”). Also visible in the photo are the mantis’s antennae (2); mouthparts – two pairs of maxilla and mandibles (3); and spiky femur and serrated, relatively stubby tibia, which forms a claw (4).
Click on the right arrow to see this mantis in the middle of a meal.
Biology in the background
Schizocephala mantises inhabit arid scrubland in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Because their bodies are comparatively fragile, they tend to hunt smaller flying insects, which they often snatch from midair. As is the case in many mantis species, both the males and the females have wings, but only the males can fly. While the females collect resources and produce eggs, the males do all the searching for a mate, guided by the pheromones given off by the females.
Females of this species can reach up to 15 centimeters long (6 inches).
Technique
These images were created using macrophotography.
TagsIgor Siwanowicz, HHMI's Janelia Research Campus