Orchid mantis
| Orchid mantis | ||||||||||||
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Orchid mantis ( Hymenopus coronatus ), female |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hymenopus coronatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Olivier , 1792) |
The orchid mantis ( Hymenopus coronatus ), also known as the crown-frightened terrapin , is a species of fishing horror that is widespread in Southeast Asia . It lives in the middle and higher foliage and flowers and feeds there on nectar-seeking insects, which are only attracted by the flower-like appearance of the fishing insect.
features
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The orchid mantis reaches an average size for fishing horrors. What is striking, however, is the strong gender dimorphism with regard to body size. While the females reach a body length of about 60 millimeters, the males are only half as long and are also much slimmer. Like most members of the Hymenopodidae family, this species is adapted to life on flowers and shows good mimesis . The animals are whitish with pink, red, purple, sometimes even brown color approaches and have numerous extensions ( praises ) on their legs. These are missing on the tentacles , her abdomen and thorax . They have conical compound eyes protruding over their head, between which there is a lob-like appendage, and a short, widened thorax. The tentacles of both sexes are quite strong and enable the animals to overpower relatively large and powerful prey. Overall, the orchid mantis looks rather squat. Both sexes are able to fly, but the male's ability to fly is significantly better than that of the females, the latter only flying in emergency situations. The wings of the males are transparent, those of the females are opaque and colored yellowish behind. In addition, male animals are generally darker in color.
distribution
The distribution area of the orchid mantis extends over the rainforests of India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Brunei.
Way of life
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After its last moult, the orchid mantis reaches the adult stage and shows a white color. At this point at the latest, the animals look for flowering plants, preferably orchids , in order to lurk there for prey. Due to their good camouflage, they are not recognized by insects such as butterflies, flies, bugs and beetles and, with the help of their powerful tentacles, can also overpower defensive insects such as bees and wasps. Small flies often mistakenly mistake the black point on the abdomen for an eating conspecific and are attracted in this way. These small flies subsequently attract larger flies, which are at the top of the menu of the orchid mantis. But it can also happen that they sneak up on insects further away with their typical, slightly swinging movements. In contrast to other species of fishing rods, the males need not just one but two moults less than the females and are therefore not only a lot smaller, but also sexually mature much earlier. This prevents inbreeding , to which Hymenopus coronatus is sensitive. The life cycle of this species is four to six months in males. A female orchid mantis can live up to eight months.
Reproduction
pairing
After the last moult ( imaginal moult ), the males need one and the females about two weeks until they are ready to mate. The males then fly around in the foliage in the evening and in the morning to look for mating, using their well-developed antennae to orient themselves to attractants that the females spread when they reach sexual maturity. The approach is risky for the male, as it is sometimes not recognized and attacked by the female as a sexual partner. Many males sneak up to the female unnoticed and then jump up quickly, frantically touching the female's prothorax with their antennae . Once they are on their partner's back, it is difficult for them to reach them with their tentacles. Copulation takes a very long time, as with most species of fishing fright, but even after that the male remains on his back for some time to fend off possible competitors. Sometimes it also "drums" the tentacles on the partner's wings.
Egg laying
After a successful mating, the female needs two to four weeks to develop an ootheca . During this time they have more appetite and their abdomen swells a lot. To lay eggs, it hangs upside down on a stable branch and presses the end of its abdomen against the bark. The female now presses a secretion from the enlarged appendage glands of her vulva and foams it up through movements of the abdomen, so that the insulating layer typical of the ootheca is created. In the case of Hymenopus coronatus, this is very fragile and serves almost exclusively as a camouflage against egg robbers. The animal first forms a kind of hollow cylinder in which it then lays its eggs in several layers separated by insulating foam. Then it closes the egg package with a final layer of foam and leaves the eggs to themselves.
development
The larvae take between six and eight weeks to develop. The young animals that hatch from the egg hardly resemble their adult conspecifics, unlike what is otherwise common with hemimetabolic insects. They are more worm-shaped with close-fitting short legs and overlong cerci . Since the larvae have to squeeze through the egg membrane and the insulating foam of the egg packet when hatching , a compact shape is an advantage. When the larva is ready to hatch inside the egg, it pierces the outer membrane of the egg with a special egg tooth, forces its way through the insulating foam that surrounds the eggs and "ropes" itself to its so-called cerci , the ends of which are attached to the egg package stay connected. The larvae now hang under the egg packet and moult immediately in this position. After their first molt , the young animals now have the appearance typical of fishing horrors, but are dark red and black in color. With this mimicry , they imitate defensive ants, which protects them from predators. From the moment they hatch, the larvae are on their own. They immediately move away from each other and look for sheltered corners where they are safe from predators. After another molt, they have the mostly whitish color of the adult animals. This coloration absorbs UV light to varying degrees and signals the presence of a flower to certain insects that can perceive these UV marks.
Keeping in the terrarium
The orchid mantis is often counted among the most beautiful mantids due to its flower-like appearance and is therefore a popular pet in terrariums. The keeping of the quite demanding species should, however, be reserved for experienced keepers. The reason for this is the high demand for heat and moisture (the latter especially at night) and the simultaneous sensitivity to waterlogging and the resulting fungal attack.
gallery
Frontal view of a female
Top view of a female
Lateral view of a female
Head part of a female
Underside of a female
Lateral head part of a young animal
Young animal with prey
Illustration of a cub
Various prepared specimens of the orchid mantis in the Zoological State Collection in Munich
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Individual evidence
- ↑ James C. O'Hanlon, Gregory I. Holwell & Marie E. Herberstein: Pollinator Deception in the Orchid Mantis. The American Naturalist, 183, Jan. 1, 2014 (online published September 2013).
- ↑ Gavin J. Svenson, Sydney K. Brannoch, Henrique M. Rodrigues, James C. O'Hanlon & Frank Wieland: Selection for predation, not female fecundity, explains sexual size dimorphism in the orchid mantises. Scientific Reports, 6, Article No. 37753, 2016 ( online )
- ↑ James C. O'Hanlon, D. Li & Y. Norma-Rashid: Coloration and Morphology of the Orchid Mantis Hymenopus coronatus (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae). Journal of Orthoptera Research 22, 1, July 2013 ( online ).
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
literature
- I. & R Bischoff, C. Hessler, M. Meyer: Mantiden Faszinierende Lauerjäger , Edition Chimaira, 2006, ISBN 3-930612-45-3
- Reinhard Ehrmann: Mantodea Gottesanbeterinnen der Welt , NTV, 2002, ISBN 3-931587-60-6
- Ehrmann, R. Praying Mantis (Mantodea) • An overview, part 1: Tribal history, systematics, physique, reproduction. Reptilia 28 (2001): pp. 26-32
- Ehrmann, R. Praying Mantis (Mantodea) • An overview, part 2: Occurrence, way of life, keeping and breeding, determination. Reptilia 29 (2001): pp. 62-67
