Mantis what's up guys?

Un pregadeu,[1] plegamans,[2] tocacampanes,[3] cavall de serp[4] o científicament, Mantis religiosa és un insecte mantodeu gros: les femelles superen fàcilment els 7 cm de llargada encara que els mascles són més petits. Se solen trobar en indrets assolellats com ara les brolles, sovint camuflats amb els seus tons críptics de colors verd groc o marró clar.

 

Són característics del pregadeus els fèmurs punxosos del primer parell de potes plegades davant del cap -en una postura que recorda la d'una persona en oració- i el cap triangular, amb dos grans ulls i unes mandíbules potents. El pregadéu és depredador d'altres insectes. Sovint resta quiet prop d'una flor, a l'aguait dels insectes pol·linitzadors. És inofensiu per als humans, ja que les seves mandíbules i les serretes de les seves potes amb les que enxampa les preses, són molt petites per a l'ésser humà.Noms dialectals

pregadeu de rostoll, pregadéu-Bernada, pregamans, (a)plegaman(o)s, plegabraços, cantamisses, (re)voltacampanes, revoltejacampanes, rodacampanes, regatejador de campanes, revol de campanes, campanar, beata, predicador, cabra[5],[6] muntacavalls etc.

 

I els més locals: dimoni (a l'Urgell), Andreu (La Codonyera), Mateu, tocacampanes (Almatret; Ribera d'Ebre), cantamisses (Terres de Lleida), plegadéus (de rostoll) (Ribera d'Ebre), senyoreta, 'tocamatines (Terres de Lleida), repicacampanes (Terres de Lleida).

 

També rep noms atribuïts a altres insectes:cuca cantamissa (Ribera d'Ebre), maria (a Senterada i més llocs), mortefuig (Mequinensa), rodadits, cavall de serp (a les Balears), tallanàs (??).

 

En rossellonès burra (o burro en septentrional de transició), cabra, bernada, marededeu; pregadeu i cabra llosca al Vallespir i l'Alt Empordà.

 

Per a més noms vegeu el mapa pregadéu Arxivat 2016-08-03 a Wayback Machine. de l'ALDC.

 

Reproducció

A la fi de l'estiu, els pregadéus surten a aparellar-se per les zones més assolellades dels boscos on viuen. Les femelles són les que dirigeixen la cacera. Són més grans que els mascles i s'encarreguen d'emetre feromones per atreure'ls. El mascle més proper cedirà a la crida silenciosa sense sospitar que, en la majoria dels casos, la còpula acaba amb la mort del mascle entre les mandíbules de la seva parella.

 

Els ous -n'hi ha fins a dos-cents- romandran tancats dins una coberta anomenada ooteca, unes estructures de contorn el·líptic i consistència esponjosa que contenen els ous i acostumen a trobar-se adherides a la pedra o a la fusta, en un indret prou arrecerat i no naixeran finsMantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They have triangular heads with bulging eyes supported on flexible necks. Their elongated bodies may or may not have wings, but all Mantodea have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, has led to the common name praying mantis.

 

The closest relatives of mantises are termites and cockroaches (Blattodea), which are all within the superorder Dictyoptera. Mantises are sometimes confused with stick insects (Phasmatodea), other elongated insects such as grasshoppers (Orthoptera), or other unrelated insects with raptorial forelegs such as mantisflies (Mantispidae). Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey. They normally live for about a year. In cooler climates, the adults lay eggs in autumn, then die. The eggs are protected by their hard capsules and hatch in the spring. Females sometimes practice sexual cannibalism, eating their mates after copulation.

 

Mantises were considered to have supernatural powers by early civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, and Assyria. A cultural trope popular in cartoons imagines the female mantis as a femme fatale. Mantises are among the insects most commonly kept as pets.Taxonomy and evolution

 

Green mantis in a backyard in Sydney, 2020

Over 2,400 species of mantis in about 430 genera are recognized.[1] They are predominantly found in tropical regions, but some live in temperate areas.[2][3] The systematics of mantises have long been disputed. Mantises, along with stick insects (Phasmatodea), were once placed in the order Orthoptera with the cockroaches (now Blattodea) and ice crawlers (now Grylloblattodea). Kristensen (1991) combined the Mantodea with the cockroaches and termites into the order Dictyoptera, suborder Mantodea.[4][5] The name mantodea is formed from the Ancient Greek words μάντις (mantis) meaning "prophet", and εἶδος (eidos) meaning "form" or "type". It was coined in 1838 by the German entomologist Hermann Burmeister.[6][7] The order is occasionally called the mantes, using a Latinized plural of Greek mantis. The name mantid properly refers only to members of the family Mantidae, which was, historically, the only family in the order. The other common name, praying mantis, applied to any species in the order[8] (though in Europe mainly to Mantis religiosa), comes from the typical "prayer-like" posture with folded forelimbs.[9][10] The vernacular plural "mantises" (used in this article) was confined largely to the US, with "mantids" predominantly used as the plural in the UK and elsewhere, until the family Mantidae was further split in 2002.[11][12]

 

One of the earliest classifications splitting an all-inclusive Mantidae into multiple families was that proposed by Beier in 1968, recognizing eight families,[13] though it was not until Ehrmann's reclassification into 15 families in 2002[12] that a multiple-family classification became universally adopted. Klass, in 1997, studied the external male genitalia and postulated that the families Chaeteessidae and Metallyticidae diverged from the other families at an early date.[14] However, as previously configured, the Mantidae and Thespidae especially were considered polyphyletic,[15] so the Mantodea have been revised substantially as of 2019 and now includes 29 families.[16]Mantises are generalist predators of arthropods.[2] The majority of mantises are ambush predators that only feed upon live prey within their reach. They either camouflage themselves and remain stationary, waiting for prey to approach, or stalk their prey with slow, stealthy movements.[34] Larger mantises sometimes eat smaller individuals of their own species,[35] as well as small vertebrates such as lizards, frogs, fish, and particularly small birds.[36][37][38]

 

Most mantises stalk tempting prey if it strays close enough, and will go further when they are especially hungry.[39] Once within reach, mantises strike rapidly to grasp the prey with their spiked raptorial forelegs.[40] Some ground and bark species pursue their prey in a more active way. For example, members of a few genera such as the ground mantises, Entella, Ligaria, and Ligariella run over dry ground seeking prey, much as tiger beetles do.[20]

 

The fore gut of some species extends the whole length of the insect and can be used to store prey for digestion later. This may be advantageous in an insect that feeds intermittently.[41] Chinese mantises live longer, grow faster, and produce more young when they are able to eat pollen.[42]Antipredator adaptations

Further information: flower mantis

Mantises are preyed on by vertebrates such as frogs, lizards, and birds, and by invertebrates such as spiders, large species of hornets, and ants.[43] Some hunting wasps, such as some species of Tachytes also paralyse some species of mantis to feed their young.[44] Generally, mantises protect themselves by camouflage, most species being cryptically colored to resemble foliage or other backgrounds, both to avoid predators and to better snare their prey.[45] Those that live on uniformly colored surfaces such as bare earth or tree bark are dorsoventrally flattened so as to eliminate shadows that might reveal their presence.[46] The species from different families called flower mantises are aggressive mimics: they resemble flowers convincingly enough to attract prey that come to collect pollen and nectar.[47][48][49] Some species in Africa and Australia are able to turn black after a molt towards the end of the dry season; at this time of year, bush fires occur and this coloration enables them to blend in with the fire-ravaged landscape (fire melanism).[46]When directly threatened, many mantis species stand tall and spread their forelegs, with their wings fanning out wide. The fanning of the wings makes the mantis seem larger and more threatening, with some species enhancing this effect with bright colors and patterns on their hindwings and inner surfaces of their front legs. If harassment persists, a mantis may strike with its forelegs and attempt to pinch or bite. As part of the bluffing (deimatic) threat display, some species may also produce a hissing sound by expelling air from the abdominal spiracles. Mantises lack chemical protection, so their displays are largely bluff. When flying at night, at least some mantises are able to detect the echolocation sounds produced by bats; when the frequency begins to increase rapidly, indicating an approaching bat, they stop flying horizontally and begin a descending spiral toward the safety of the ground, often preceded by an aerial loop or spin. If caught, they may slash captors with their raptorial legs.[46][50][51]

 

Mantises, like stick insects, show rocking behavior in which the insect makes rhythmic, repetitive side-to-side movements. Functions proposed for this behavior include the enhancement of crypsis by means of the resemblance to vegetation moving in the wind. However, the repetitive swaying movements may be most important in allowing the insects to discriminate objects from the background by their relative movement, a visual mechanism typical of animals with simpler sight systems. Rocking movements by these generally sedentary insects may replace flying or running as a source of relative motion of objects in the visual field.[52] As ants may be predators of mantises, genera such as Loxomantis, Orthodera, and Statilia, like many other arthropods, avoid attacking them. Exploiting this behavior, a variety of arthropods, including some early-instar mantises, mimic ants to evade their predators.[53] wikipedia dixit

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