The Orchid Mantis: A Deadly Orchid Mimic
What looks like a delicate flower, but is actually an aggressive predator? The Orchid Mantis is one of nature’s most surprising creatures. Native to Malaysian and Indonesian rainforests, these insects really resemble flowers. With a cheery pink color, and legs that look like petals, their orchid disguises are so effective that their flying insect prey comes to them. That makes this species the first predator known to hunt by mimicking a flower.
Check out the three short videos below to see these tiny carnivores in action. The first two videos include footage of the mantises eating flies, so you may want to put down your lunch first. The third video is cruelty-free.
Unbelievable tiny Orchid Mantis inside a Moth Orchid! —
Close up video of Orchid Mantises —
Close up video of Orchid Mantis cleaning itself —
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December 17th, 2013 at 1:07 am
That will make me think nexttime before I smell a flower. Maybe there is a mantis in it!
December 19th, 2013 at 7:54 pm
Creepy…
December 24th, 2013 at 5:46 pm
Very interesting that there better at attracting bugs than actual flowers. They are so tiny and well disguised that if they were in my garden I wouldn’t even be able to find it.