(Describer) Titles: The Bug Chicks, and Solpugid Productions, in association with Texas A and M University. Insects and Human Society. Quote: Development of the mind can be achieved only when the body has been discolined. To accomplish this the ancients have taught us to imitate God's creatures. The praying mantis teaches us speed and patience. - Master Kan, Kung Fu Series. Trying to catch flies with chopsticks....

[bell chimes]

[insects buzzing]

This would be so much easier if we had raptorial legs. Right?

(Describer) Different insects are shown: including a small green one with wings, hundreds of tiny ones swarming a worm, one with transparent wings climbing a tree, a thin green one looking around, two with translucent white wings, and one crawling on a green leaf before flying off. Titles: The Insect Orders.

[Morgantj plays "Cafe Connection"]

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(Describer) Title: Order Mantodea : Mantids. Taxonomy.

The term "Mantodea" is Greek for soothsayer. A soothsayer is like a prophet. The common name for these insects is "praying mantis," and this name has to do with the way they hold their front legs, as if in prayer. Now, for the morphology section, we're gonna take you to our studio because we actually have a pet praying mantis, and there, she can't fly away.

(Describer) Title: Morphology. With their mantis...

Mantises have some functional adaptations that help them survive. And when most people think about a praying mantis, they think about their front legs. They're called raptorial legs, and they're shaped to catch prey as they strike out in front of that prothorax. And the femur and tibia are covered in sharp spines, and that holds the prey in place as the mantis eats. They also have a triangular-shaped head and huge eyes. They can turn their heads almost 180 degrees to look over their shoulders. This helps them to visually stalk their moving prey without moving their bodies and giving themselves away. Some mantis species are the only animals in the world to have only one ear. It's called being an auditory cyclops. That one ear holds two eardrums, and while it can't detect where the sound is coming from, it can detect ultrasonic frequencies. Maybe it's to hear a katydid that sings an ultrasonic song, or maybe it's for a female to sense when a male is near and ready to mate, or maybe it's simply to evade predators like bats that use echolocation.

(Describer) Title: Biodiversity and Distribution.

There are about 1,800 species of praying mantises all over the world. Twenty can be found here in North America, but a lot of the most common ones we see are actually introduced. Tropical mantids can get really large, and some, like these bark mantids, have incredible camouflage.

(Describer) Title: Biology and Life History.

Praying mantises are predators, which means they're strict carnivores. They can fly, but mostly when they hunt, they sit and wait for prey to pass by. They detect movement against a still background and will often sit on leaves motionless. They have incredible accuracy and strike quickly.

(Describer) A mantis hunts on a flower.

We talked about some really large mantises, right? Well, in addition to crickets and other insects that mantids eat, they've also been documented to eat snakes, birds, frogs, mice, and softshell turtles. There are some YouTube videos of praying mantises here in America sitting on hummingbird feeders, catching them. They're incredible.

(Describer) Title: Metamorphosis.

Mantids go through simple gradual metamorphosis. When the immatures hatch from the ootheca, they look like miniature adults. Over a series of molts, they grow wings and reach sexual maturity.

(Describer) Title: Human Impact. A Chinese hotpot sits in front of them.

These insects have no negative impact on humans. No home invasions, no venom. But if you mess with some of the larger species, you could get nailed by one of their tibial spines. So I used to have this really large praying mantis as a pet, and one day I was feeding her, and she missed the cricket and put the spine straight through my thumbnail. It really hurt. And some people are trying to use them as biological control agents, because they're such incredible hunters, but these guys don't differentiate between pest and beneficial species, like pollinators. So if you see a praying mantis sitting outside of a beehive, it's probably being more of a nuisance than a help.

(Describer) Title: Collecting.

Mantids are one of these creatures that you really want in your collection because they're so cool, but you also want to let 'em live 'cause they're so cool. I usually keep them as a pet, and then let them die naturally, and then pin them. They're also really hard to find if you're looking for them. It's a total luck thing. Maybe try a garden with lots of pollinators flying around. Use a net for the larger ones, and you can catch the smaller ones by hand.

(Describer) Title: Mythology and Culture.

Mantids are fascinating insects, so it's no surprise that there's a ton of mythology and beliefs surrounding them from cultures all over the world. In the U.S. and Central America, they're called the devil's horse and said to turn a man blind with one bite. In France, they point the way home for lost children. In Arab and Turkish cultures, it's said that praying mantises point the way toward Mecca. In Africa, they bring good luck and bring people back from the dead. Roasted mantid eggs are a surefire way to cure bed-wetting in China. And my personal favorite, praying mantis kung fu. There is a style of kung fu that is based on the predatory hunting methods of the praying mantis-- complete with wrist strikes, and hits to pressure points, and really low stances-- and it is awesome. [Chinese bamboo flute music playing]

(Describer) Standing, they bow with an open hand covering a fist, then turn to each other. Kristie strikes and Jessica blocks.

[yelling] hah! hah! hah!

hah! aah!

(Describer) Jessica kicks toward Kristie's leg, and Kristie kicks. They face each other with bent arms and wrists. Then they stop and bow again.

hah! hah!

[exaggerated yelling]

Awesome. Mantids rule. ["The Crab and The Egret" playing]

(Describer) Titles: Written and Produced by Kristie Reddick, Jessica Honaker Videographers: Kristie Reddick, Jessica Honaker Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.

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