thelope.com - praying mantis vs. squash bug

[chaoticpiklemongerer]

dude this was filmed at an AWESOME angle man good camera work

[PUTSAS]

very good camera

[Traces1000]

Ash: woow a wild bug pokemon...Scyther i choose you....

Ash: scyther use scratch attack

Scyther grabbed the bug and at it....

Scyther: nom nom nom nom nom

Ash:............wtf....

[extremeninja1013]

i didnt know a prying mantis had a toung!

[Shadowblood66]

@extremeninja1013 It doesn't have a tongue :P the inside of it's mouth is bright red, which is why it looks like it has one.

[sunlun123]

poor mantis, didn't know the bug is stinks

[MrKmart95]

Perfect video :)

[MisterDD78]

OWNED!

[morpher787]

mantis : crap got guts on my face beetle: hoorayy cough cough Xp

[o0oRESHIRAMo0o]

mantis: uhg these things are so messy to eat *wipes face* lol

[soulcitysigma]

did the bug die instantly? it seemed like it didn't even move after being caught

[acejackalope]

@soulcitysigma I noticed that. I suppose the bug may have been trying a "play dead" tactic. Maybe someone more entomological can inform us?

[SkuIICrusherGhost]

@acejackalope The shell on the s-bug is very strong and sharp.

Also known as stink bugs these pests leave an oder to signal others.

Put 3 in a clear water bottle and shake it and the shells cut the legs off one another.

THE MANTIS may be reacting to the oder which does Not Wash off

or the tough shell is hard to chew.

The Mantis simply eats its victim alive no venom needed.

[SkuIICrusherGhost]

Yes when in trouble or want to mate they send out a pheromone !!

[MengoMango]

@soulcitysigma Supposedly bunnies also do that when they are caught. They go unconscious into a near death experience type of state probably to make death easier to handle.

[soulcitysigma]

@MengoMango that definitely sounds like a possibility. if that's how it hapened it actually allows me to feel a little less sorry for the little guy. one thing i hate about mantids - even though they are amazing creatures - is that they eat stuff alive. i prefer a predator that is able to at least inflict a quick death.

[ThePaPeRsLiCeR]

@soulcitysigma maby becuese if you look nir the claw there is like a pin im olny 5 sos bout mi spelling

[counter1405]

more please

[hypnotoad2882]

i like bugs and think there cool as shit but there mouths creep me the fuck out

[TheRealFobican]

Did it cry? was the Squash bug covered in a thin layer of garlic?

[kyorochan829]

The mantis ate the squash bug?

[acejackalope]

@kyorochan829 Yes, the mantis ate the bug. She ate many of them over a period of a few days, then lost interest in them, at which time we started feeding her crickets. You can see her actually eat the bugs in a couple of my other videos.

[jessewam]

Mantises are like cats. They stalk, they pounce, they lick themselves...

[afterapplepicking]

I spared you the gory parts = I spared you the only reason to watch the video.

[shortiecanbrawl]

What kind of mantis is this?

[acejackalope]

@shortiecanbrawl it's a Chinese Mantis. There is more of an explanation in the text that goes with the video.

[antwizzle79]

i bet he didnt eat it...lol

[Mantis897565]

great picture, and great preying mantis.

[Vindicut]

YEHA little bastard squash bugs killing my garden! Ive got some of these little bastards trying to destroy my watermelon/canteloupe garden and watching this brought a little bit of satisfaction to my day LOL. thanks a bunch

VIVA LA PRAYING MANTIS!

[knoxklay11]

squashbugs head looks similar to the stink bugs. any relation that u know of?

[jerrydff7]

that is so cool!

[Chained2Alice]

thanks for the full hd video!

[MrCalebtheartist]

It's not a squash bug, it's an assassin bug.

[olov244]

@MrCalebtheartist i disagree, after just killing a handfull of squash bugs that is definitely a squash bug

[AndrewNeilFalconer]

There are praying mantis in our area, but not nearly enough to control the squash bug population. The squash bug numbers can quickly grow to the point that the newly hatched bugs will completely devour squash plants faster than they can grow.

This is one more reason to love the Praying Mantis. I need one-hundred of Praying Mantis around the garden this summer.

[acejackalope]

A landscaper friend of mine found it in a bush she was assigned to remove. following arbitar's lead, a little research showed that Chinese mantises were introduced into the U.S. late in the 19th century as a pest control method. They adapted and are still here. They were well represented in the 4H exhibits at the Kansas State Fair, so I suppose they are not too hard to find.

[epilepsy211]

did you buy it or ffind it or what?

[acejackalope]

Thanks, arbitar. It hadn't occurred to me to check for invasive foreign species.