{"id":11602,"date":"2022-07-18T16:30:50","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T21:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/?p=11602"},"modified":"2022-07-23T10:45:34","modified_gmt":"2022-07-23T15:45:34","slug":"what-do-praying-mantises-eat-and-drink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/what-do-praying-mantises-eat-and-drink\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do Praying Mantises Eat And Drink?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019ve ever seen a praying mantis<\/a> sitting perfectly still on the ground or on a low-growing shrub, you may have wondered what it was doing there. Most likely, it was hunting, waiting for its next meal to pass by. This leads to the question, what do praying mantises eat and drink? Keep reading! In this article, we\u2019ll answer this question and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Praying Mantis\u2019 Favorite Food?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises are carnivores that eat a variety of foods; in fact, like many predators, they aren\u2019t picky and will eat nearly anything they can catch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are over 2,000 species of praying mantis found throughout the world; some are less than an inch long as adults, while others grow up to 12 inches long. As you might imagine, different types of praying mantises target different types of prey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general though, all praying mantises seem to prefer eating bugs and insects. Even the smallest species are fierce hunters and will occasionally take down prey much larger and heavier than themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises eat all different kinds of insects, from tiny fruit flies to large grasshoppers and cockroaches. They will eat both flying and ground-dwelling insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most praying mantises hunt by sitting perfectly still, large front limbs extended in a \u201cpraying hands\u201d <\/em>position, waiting for prey to pass by. Many insects mistake the motionless insects for twigs and pass by too closely; when they do, the mantis will lunge forward and snatch the insect in its front arms, trapping it and eating it alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises seem to prefer arthropods, including beetles, butterflies, termites, crickets, and sometimes spiders. They also eat worms and grubs, insect larvae, and small insects like aphids and ants.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises sometimes eat other praying mantises as well. Females commonly eat the males after mating, and adults sometimes eat young mantises, or nymphs, especially when no other prey is available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises get most of the fluids they need from humidity in the air and from the prey they eat. That said, they will sometimes drink droplets of dew or rainwater from leaves and grass. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out this video to see a praying mantis catching and eating a fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rwPaUma6R_k<\/a>