Mantis deimatic display

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dy5
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Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 7:50 pm
Location: College Park, MD

Mantis deimatic display

Post by dy5 »

Discovered a few more 'studio' shots in an archive. This is a female Creobroter sp. It's from India, if I remember correctly.

The deimatic display of mantids is a typical 'I'm really big and really scary' response to a threat. Most species do it, but there are variations: some, like Creobroter, flash big eyespots, most spread their forelegs wide, some will rock back and forth in an almost comical dance, some open their 'jaws' to show brightly-colored mouthparts, and a few make hissing sounds. Most species use some combination of those behaviors. If threatened further, the mantis may strike out with its formidably-spined forelegs. Females typically display more readily than males who are better able to run or fly away. There have been studies confirming that mantids' deimatic display really does startle and deter predators, although it doesn't guarantee survival if the predator is bold and persistent.

Cheers, David

Nikon D800; Voigtländer 125/2.5 lens; multiple flashes
Creobroter deimatic 2022.jpg

Lou Jost
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Re: Mantis deimatic display

Post by Lou Jost »

What a beautiful and dynamic photos! One of the most surprising and interesting insect photos I have ever seen.

Olympusman
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Re: Mantis deimatic display

Post by Olympusman »

That is absolutely crazy stunning.

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

AlP
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Re: Mantis deimatic display

Post by AlP »

Beautiful.

Guppy
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Re: Mantis deimatic display

Post by Guppy »

Hi
What a beautiful subject, nice one, in best quality!!
Kurt

dy5
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Re: Mantis deimatic display

Post by dy5 »

Thank you all for your kind words - much appreciated.

It doesn't hurt that mantids in general are photogenic. That female fancied herself a fashion model, and held a series of poses. (I was happy to pay her fee of two crickets, medium-rare.)

dunksargent
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Re: Mantis deimatic display

Post by dunksargent »

Superb image; TYVM for sharing. BW, dunk
And now for something completely different.

MarkSturtevant
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Re: Mantis deimatic display

Post by MarkSturtevant »

I had somehow overlooked this one. A terrific picture! I have tried to get our local species (Chinese and European mantids) to do the display and had never succeeded. This paper shows that the display has many variations, and not all species do it: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/ ... .2020.1016.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

dy5
Posts: 122
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2010 7:50 pm
Location: College Park, MD

Re: Mantis deimatic display

Post by dy5 »

Thanks for the reference, Mark - fascinating, especially the evolutionary results.

Cheers, David

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