Nebraskaland

NEBRASKAland October 2017

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/873551

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OCTOBER 2017 • NEBRASKAland 45 through a single opening on their thorax between their legs. While hearing may not be critical for many phases of their lives, praying mantises rely on hearing to help avoid being eaten by bats. Male mantises fly at night when tracking down females (by following pheromone trails) and some species of mantises use flight as a way to disperse to new habitats. During nighttime flights, a mantis can hear the sounds of bat echolocation and can take evasive action to avoid being caught while flying. When it hears an approaching bat, the mantis can turn sharply or go into a steep spiral dive to the ground. A Unique Insect There is a lot about praying mantises you probably don't know about if you're not an entomologist. However, one thing you do know about them might actually be less true than you thought. Many people have heard anecdotes about female mantises decapitating males during mating. While that behavior does occur, it is most common in captivity. Research shows that males might lose their lives to females during only about a quarter of mating events in the wild, and scientists argue about how much of that cannibalism might be affected by the presence of human observers. Regardless, after mating, praying mantises lay their eggs inside a frothy mass produced by glands on the female's abdomen. That froth hardens into the approximate consistency of Styrofoam and provides insulating protection to the eggs over the winter until the eggs hatch in the spring. Each mantis species has its own unique ootheca (egg case) design, and those of the Chinese mantis can contain up to 400 eggs. Each spring, tiny nymphs emerge from those mantis eggs and start wandering around prairies, woodlands, and yards across Nebraska. If you see one in your neighborhood, take a minute to appreciate how unique, beautiful and fascinating praying mantises really are. They can be a lot of fun to watch – as long as you're not on their menu list. ■ The largest of Nebraska's mantises, the Chinese mantis, seen here feeding on a hawk or sphinx moth, can reach lengths of 4 1 ⁄2 inches. Chris Helzer is the Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska. He has been a contributor to NEBRASKAland since 1994. Chris blogs at prairieecologist.com. l i t

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