Praying mantises are definitely rulers of the insect world.
Using their deadly front legs, which they hold together as if in perpetual prayer, they can unleash destruction on any unwitting arthropod that gets in their way.
His destructive tendencies aren’t limited to other creepy crawlies though. Sometimes praying mantises go after much larger game, like this unfortunate gecko…
In this gruesome scene, the praying mantis shows no mercy as it devours the traumatized gecko alive. This just goes to show that having bones, an endoskeleton, and an insect diet does not make you immune to invertebrate attacks.
Geico commercials will never be the same.
However, while this might be one of the most metallic events in the animal kingdom, it’s certainly not the only time a praying mantis has brought down unusually large prey. Some praying mantises have been documented to hunt hummingbirds. Others have taken down other mantises, and that’s not to mention the well-known fact that female mantises often eat male mantises before/during/after sex!
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