The cold winter has finally reached its end and warmer weather was slowly making an appearance. It felt as if the world had been put on pause for these past couple months and the only thing keeping me on my toes was the question of, “What’s next?” These long days and restless nights of being hungry, uncomfortable, and crammed are done with. Having to share such a minuscule space with nearly 200 of my siblings will definitely make you feel as if you are going crazy at times. As a steady beam of sunlight continues to warm up the egg sac, the exterior membrane begins to loosen and lose its hard structure, making it a little easier for us to break out. One by one, we exit our old home and take a deep breath of the new one we will be living in for the time being. The feeling of being afraid and alone crept onto us but as we continued to wander around the beautiful terrain those fears started to slip away. All kinds of vibrant colors: red, green, purple, and pinks filled up the sky above us and the ground beneath our feet. What we were seeing with our own eyes was more than we could have imagined. After seeing nothing but pure darkness for a period of time, we could not help but be amazed. Instantly, we realize that our lives were not the same and there will be some major adjustments. Our senses had never been put to full use. We were not examining what we were seeing in the egg sac, let alone trying to sniff out the smell my siblings and I were releasing. It all became “normal” to us. It’s not like that anymore, now when we inhale the air it is overpowered by the many scents around. I couldn’t quite tell you what each scent truly smells like but what I can tell you is that it is better than what we were smelling before.
As we start to understand our bodies, we notice some distinguishable characteristics about us mantids have when compared to the many other insects roaming on the ground. Our facial structure is made up of mostly our eyes; we have the ability to use what we like to call stereo vision. What this means is that we can focus our attention on a specific spot using both of our eyes, therefore judging distances very accurately. This gives us an advantage when it comes to hunting for our prey. Besides having accurate knowledge of vision, one of our many interesting abilities, unlike other insects, our heads are structured differently. We are the only insects capable of turning our heads from side to side making a 180-degree angle. This is a key element to our hunting for it allows minimal movement as we catch our prey by surprise. The mantis family has been designed in such a unique way that makes them a very dangerous and powerful predator. Do not be misled by the name praying mantis, we got that name because while we wait for our prey, we hold our front legs in an upright position, where they may appear to be folded. As we wait for our prey, we tend to do so while blending in. A pretty neat thing that has saved me from time to time is my ability to camouflage with my surroundings. Given a stick-like figure makes living in environments such as woodlands, forests, gardens, and tall grass fields make a more protected habitat to live in.
After having lived for some time with my siblings in our egg sac, never had we thought of our next meal. The unknown of what it would be and where we would be getting it from never worried us. Now that we are living in this “real world”, I can feel this sense of hunger coming on. With that, there is an inner voice inside myself telling me my only two options out there in the bigger world is to eat or be eaten. It seems as though we are not alone. Right around every corner, there will be a battle and my life will depend on how hard I decided to fight. While I may have had my meal, another predator might be on the lookout for theirs and I seem to be on their menu. The last thing anyone would want is to die, be eaten, or killed but for us predators, our lifestyle is to hunt. While you may not think so, the mantids that have lived before us discovered that the size of our opponent does not dictate whether they would dominate us in a match. While at most times, the older and braver mantids may seek a greater feast, I’ve watched from afar and noticed that many of the younger mantids were feeling uncomfortable with challenging prey greater than their size. When one had discovered that catching crickets, beetles, and flies was the easier option they all then began to mimic him. As for the remaining ones who were not fast enough quite yet, stayed in the safe regions to nibble on greens. As for the ones who were successful in their hunting, were then rewarded with the great satisfaction of leaving the scene with a full and completed appetite. Another big advantage that we mantises have over other insects, is the fact that we are equipped with two large appendages at the front of our bodies that advice us in many ways such as support for walking and climbing trees, giving us a very forceful grip when holding onto objects whether that be prey or not, and presenting us larger than what we may be.
Being classified in the group of carnivores predators definitely gives us the confidence to stroll along without worrying too much about how we could be eaten. However, that does not mean we can walk around this earth with a carefree mindset, we must always stay cautious and prepared for what may happen next. Soon after the majority of my siblings and I had eaten our very first meal, there was something telling me that we were being watched. I thought nothing of it and continued the exploration. In doing so, I stumble across what appears to be a giant feather that must have fallen off of a bird. I had gotten so distracted that I had fallen way behind my pack where not too long after did I then come to the realization of where that feather had come from. The sun disappeared and a heaping of air struck me by surprise. By the time I turned around, I found myself face to face with a bird three times my size. The first thing my instinct told me to do was RUN, RUN, RUN!!! Wow, my first day out into the world and I have now been placed in my life or death situation for the day. The longer I run, I can feel my strides shortening and legs weakening, I was starting to lose hope. Luckily, a few feet away and I can see what may be my savior for the day, A TREE! Just a while longer I thought to myself as the ever so eager predator chased me through the area I had taken my first breaths. Once the tree came of range, I was then able to stop the chase and blend in as part of the tree bark, leaving the bird to ponder on my disappearance and search for another meal other than myself. I really did get lucky this one time; if I were to have learned anything from that it had to have been to never lose focus and always stay with the pack.
Now as the sun begins to set, the day slowly shifts into dawn, what may have been our first day outside of the egg sac has finally come to an end, as does all great things but who knows tomorrow could be greater.
Works Cited
Keeping Insects, www.keepinginsects.com/praying-mantis/general/. “Please Enable Cookies.” StackPath,
www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/beneficial/praying-mantis-egg-sac-info.htm. “Praying Mantis - Facts, Diet & Habitat Information.” Animal Corner, animalcorner.org/animals/praying-mantis/.
“Praying Mantis Habitat, Predators, Prey & Facts.” Safer® Brand, www.saferbrand.com/advice/insect-library/beneficial-bugs/all-about-praying-mantises.