A Nanaimo woman was surprised earlier this week to find what the cat dragged in B次元官网网址� a praying mantis.
Kailey DeFehr said her cat was batting at what she thought was a leaf in the hallway of her Wellington-area home on Monday, Sept. 12, but on closer inspection, she realized the B次元官网网址榣eafB次元官网网址� had legs.
B次元官网网址淚 realized it was a large bug that was turned over onto its back, so I asked my boyfriend to come put it outside for me and he picked it up and said, B次元官网网址極h my God, itB次元官网网址檚 a praying mantis, I didnB次元官网网址檛 know we had these hereB次元官网网址次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 was going to pick it up, but something made me have that B次元官网网址楨w!B次元官网网址� reaction. I didnB次元官网网址檛 want to touch it until I was sure. I donB次元官网网址檛 like creepy-crawlies for the most part, but when I realized what it was, I was more intrigued than grossed out.B次元官网网址�
Tim Goater, an academic emeritus with Vancouver Island UniversityB次元官网网址檚 biology department, said praying mantises were introduced in the Okanagan in the 1930s to control grasshopper population. He said itB次元官网网址檚 possible mantises, with their sticky egg sacs, were transported onto the Island.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 probably not going to be what we also call an invasive species because the populations are so small, but IB次元官网网址檝e certainly noticed them here, basically for almost 20 years,B次元官网网址� Goater told the B次元官网网址 Bulletin. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e been here a while B次元官网网址� I live in Lantzville and once every couple of summers, I find them in the raspberry canes. ItB次元官网网址檚 not unusual that theyB次元官网网址檙e going to be found on Vancouver Island.B次元官网网址�
Praying mantises prey on B次元官网网址渂asically anything that they canB次元官网网址檛 fit into their mouth and basically attack,B次元官网网址� including crickets, flies, and other insects. There have been reports of mantises feeding on prey as large as hummingbirds, but Goater said that has only been reported in the tropics.
Praying mantises are not dangerous to humans, the professor said.
B次元官网网址淭hey have very spiky forelegs that they might give you a bit of a [pinch] when you pick them up, but they donB次元官网网址檛 cause any harm,B次元官网网址� he said.
Estimated life cycle of a praying mantis is six to nine months, according to Goater, who also said males have to be careful when courting during mating season.
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 very likely to become a prey item B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 called sexual cannibalism,B次元官网网址� said the prof. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 got a very intriguing title, but that it is what happens. The male often, especially after heB次元官网网址檚 done his business, is eaten by the female. Other insects do it, but itB次元官网网址檚 renowned in the praying mantids.B次元官网网址�
Should people find a praying mantis, Goater recommends leaving them alone.
DeFehr reported that the insect she found survived its interaction with the cat and she was trying to feed it fruit flies.
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 started to move his head. I named him Manny,B次元官网网址� she said.
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