{"id":11615,"date":"2022-07-22T11:16:55","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T16:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/?p=11615"},"modified":"2023-01-16T05:28:16","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T10:28:16","slug":"do-praying-mantises-kill-hummingbirds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/do-praying-mantises-kill-hummingbirds\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Praying Mantises Kill Hummingbirds?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019ve ever seen a praying mantis perched on your hummingbird feeder, you may have thought it wasn\u2019t any cause for concern. That is, until you saw the mantis<\/a> with a hummingbird clutched in its forelegs. Such a sight as this probably shocked you. Do praying mantises kill hummingbirds? Do they actually eat them? How do these insect predators hunt these little birds which are often larger than themselves? And what can you do to keep mantises away from your feeders? Keep reading as we answer all of these questions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will a Praying Mantis Actually Eat a Hummingbird?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Will<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Surprising as it may seem, praying mantises do occasionally eat hummingbirds. Though it is something of an exception to the rule, it happens often enough that home gardeners and backyard bird watchers will go to great lengths to keep mantises away from their hummingbird feeders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, praying mantises are capable of hunting, catching, and eating prey that\u2019s larger than themselves. Even so, there are around 2,000 species of praying mantis, and only the largest ones are capable of taking down hummingbirds. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a praying mantis does catch a hummingbird, it is incapable of eating the whole thing. Instead, it will eat the brain matter, blood, and internal organs, allowing the feathers, bones, and muscles to fall to the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because they are a challenge to catch and eat, mantises typically will only resort to eating hummingbirds if other foods are in short supply and they haven\u2019t eaten in a long time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr. Joshua Martin, as quoted by Audubon<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“As a mantis gets hungry, as the time from its last meal gets longer, [its] ‘idea’ of what constitutes prey gets broader and broader, and [it will] strike at larger targets.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In other words, praying mantises really only eat hummingbirds when they\u2019re desperate for a meal.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, if a particular praying mantis has had hunting success at a particular hummingbird feeder, it may return again and again. Praying mantises are smart creatures, and if they find a reliable hunting spot, they\u2019re probably going to keep coming back to it\u2013even if it means hunting hummingbirds repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you have a praying mantis stalking your hummingbird feeder, it may not be intentionally hunting hummingbirds. Plenty of insects, especially bees and wasps, are also attracted to the sugary water contained within these feeders; and if given the choice, most praying mantises will go for the insects rather than the hummingbirds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So yes, some praying mantises will eat hummingbirds if they can\u2019t get any other types of food, <\/strong>and they may repeatedly go back to the same feeders where they\u2019ve hunted successfully in the past. But in most cases, mantises prefer to eat smaller types of food<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do Praying Mantises Hunt Hummingbirds?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises are known as ambush predators. This means that they will sit perfectly still, sometimes for hours on end, waiting for prey to pass by; then, they will lash out and snatch the prey in their powerful front legs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises hunt hummingbirds in the same way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will climb onto the cover or one of the perches on a hummingbird feeder, or they will hide<\/a> in waiting underneath nectar flowers frequented by hummingbirds. They will wait, assuming their \u201cpraying-hands\u201d hunting pose, until a potential meal comes by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises have excellent vision which they use to analyze the speed and size of any possible target. Hungrier mantises are more likely to target larger prey, so any mantis that attacks a hummingbird would have to be nearly starving before it would do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hummingbirds know instinctively to watch out for praying mantises, but there are times they simply don\u2019t see them or drift too close by accident. When the hummingbird is within reach, the mantis will spring forward, grabbing the bird in its front legs while attempting to brace itself with its four back legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mantises tend to eat the head first. Their strong jaws puncture the bird\u2019s fragile skull, allowing it to get at the soft and nutritious brain matter inside.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises eat all their prey alive, though the prey gradually dies as it is eaten. Targeting the head first tends to subdue and kill most prey animals quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out this video to see just how quickly a praying mantis can strike and catch a hummingbird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ep6vmpcUQR8<\/a>