Killing prey in just 60 milliseconds: Mantis are truly 'martial arts masters' in the animal world

A study recently published in the journal Biology Letters shows that mantis is actually a "martial artist" in the insect world.

Accordingly, they possess the ability to launch attacks at unbelievably fast speeds, only a few microseconds. And yet, the accuracy of the mantis's own attacks is equally amazing, as they possess super-fast calculation ability based on the speed and direction of their prey.

A slow-motion image shows how mantises grab their prey with lightning speed.

Predatory killer

According to biologists, mantis is an ambush predator . Instead of stalking or chasing prey, this insect prefers to silently wait for a place, raising its front legs "attached" with its sharp spikes in ready position. When the "victim" unknowingly walked past the ambush site without any suspicion, the mantis suddenly rushed over and gripped the writhing body of its prey. Then it begins to "devour" its prey almost immediately.

Reportedly, to study more carefully the hunting skills of mantis, researchers at the University of Sussex (UK) have conducted a special experiment. Initially, they placed Madagascan mantis (Polyspilota aeruginosa) into an "arena", then provided them with small insects or small seeds as targets. When mantises attack prey, they will be recorded by a high-speed camera at 200 frames per second.

Praying Mantises have the ability to strike with unbelievable speed and accuracy.

After examining and analyzing the slow motion footage, the scientists found that the speed of the mantis's 'strike' in each hunting was different.

Specifically, in one hunting, mantis takes only 60 milliseconds (0.06 seconds) to catch the prey. On other occasions, hunting times last longer, up to 290 milliseconds. Subsequent research shows that the speed of the mantis attacks corresponds to the speed of prey movement. They will closely follow the movements of the prey, from speed to trajectory of movement, thereby determining exactly when they should attack.

" I don't think they can do the maths like humans. But mantises' nervous system is somehow able to turn prey information into prey into a sequence of attacks that are both precise and precise. right time. For an insect with a brain size so small as a mantis, that would be horrible! So, in the future, we want to learn more about their nervous system , "Ross said. Rossoni, a Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Cambridge, UK, and the lead author of the study, said.

More surprisingly, the mantis even possesses the ability to "revoke attacks" . When mantises feel that they have moved too early, or that the hunting action has not been performed correctly, they can 'pause' the attacks that have been released midway to adjust. According to biologists, this is considered to be a behavior that has never been described before.