{"id":17754,"date":"2013-12-16T05:30:13","date_gmt":"2013-12-16T13:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/?p=17754"},"modified":"2014-01-04T22:24:09","modified_gmt":"2014-01-05T06:24:09","slug":"the-orchid-mantis-a-deadly-orchid-mimic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aboutorchids.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/16\/the-orchid-mantis-a-deadly-orchid-mimic\/","title":{"rendered":"The Orchid Mantis: A Deadly Orchid Mimic"},"content":{"rendered":"

What looks like a delicate flower, but is actually an aggressive predator?<\/a> The Orchid Mantis<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Unbelievable tiny Orchid Mantis inside a Moth Orchid! —<\/em>
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