r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/1632hub • 5d ago

Video Praying mantis defending itself from a snake

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5.5k Upvotes

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582

u/Sanguinetti 5d ago

I've kept mantids as pets and handled them a bunch, it's crazy and fascinating how strong they are

22

u/i_r_faptastic 5d ago

If any insect had consciousness, it would be them.

51

u/Gerrut_batsbak 4d ago

ive seen a mantis get chewed in half by a wasp while eating a different wasp. it didn't even react at all

27

u/Schaakmate 4d ago

Not sure if that's a flex

7

u/Average-Anything-657 4d ago

Don't some wasps have venom that paralyzes bugs?

5

u/MembershipSad5768 4d ago

Specifically parisitoid wasps, they look extra long and gangly almost like mosquitoes, not the run of the mill paper wasps or hornets

3

u/TheLordReaver 3d ago

In the instance of the mantis not caring that it was getting 'eaten' by the other wasp, my understanding is that when a mantis is eating, it like blocks their brain from doing anything else. Basically, they don't stop eating until they are done, even if that means they are getting sawed in half.

I'm not entomologist though, that's just what I remember from the video comments.

1

u/ADHDeez_Nutz420 2d ago

They don't really feel pain. Joys of a lymphatic blood system.

6

u/Nightshade_209 4d ago

I dono, bees have observed "playing", they took time out of their day to push a small ball around for no apparent reason or obvious rewards.

I don't think it fair to say insects don't have consciousness altogether. Although I do recognize that whatever they experience and how they process it is likely entirely alien to our own experience.

As an aside while not insects spiders, especially jumping spiders, seem very aware and conscious of their environments.

1

u/Odd_Storm_7463 3d ago

Some of the intricate webs of spiders and functional, wasp and bees nest and they do it like in no time and they’re so precise and accurate

-2

u/Slow_Cryptographer84 4d ago edited 4d ago

Funny! Leaving this here:

r/MantisEncounters

3

u/Newfiecat 3d ago

You fooled me! I thought this was about the insect, lol

2

u/Slow_Cryptographer84 2d ago

If you keep an open mind, it may be more interesting than that 😁