In the next episode on my Youtube channel - ‘FramesOfNature’, I talk about an amazing creature of the natural world. One of the most powerful and efficient hunters of the insect kingdom. Here you go… : Do let me know your thoughts. Feel free to share and do not forget to subscribe to my channel to keep updated on more such videos.
My previous post was on one of the most powerful predators in the world of arthropods, the Jumping Spiders. This one is about another family of arthropods, that are as much, if not more, notorious of hunters, as the jumpers. They are the Mantises. Mantis, more popularly known as the Praying Mantis ( owing to the way it’s front pair of legs are held, raised up, as if in a position of prayer ) also relies on powerful vision and stealth for hunting and has the necessary equipment for getting the job done....
Came across this big group of individuals swimming around in a small stream in Coorg. They could easily have been mistaken for a school of fish and I did too. However, they seemed to be swimming on the water’s surface, with the upper half of their bodies outside, unlike most fish. Looking closely, realized that they weren’t fish at all, but a completely different kind of creatures. They were insects, more specifically, beetles....
One evening, while playing with my daughter outside our house, she noticed something big come buzzing around. She started pulling me and said, ' It’s a bee, let’s get inside ……. ' I tried correcting her saying ' That is not a bee, it’s a Hornet, a Greater Banded Hornet, see how much bigger it is when compared to a bee… ' She cut me short and said, ' I don’t care…....
Most of the predators in nature, rely on stealth and camouflage to outsmart their prey. From the big cats like the tiger, leopard, to the smaller hunters like the jumping spiders and praying mantises. Here’s one that I came across recently. In one of the nature trails, just as I stepped past a large tree, I felt a sudden, brisk movement on its bark. For the split second that I was able to see, it seemed like a praying mantis to me....