Orchid Mantis

Mantis shrimp may be tiny, but they’re ferocious thanks to foreboding eyes, Herculean strength — and punches that carry the force of a 22-caliber bullet. They’re known to fire off attacks against prey like worms and squid, predators, and one another. An ecologist captured some of this infighting at up to 40,000 frames per second, allowing a slow-motion view at how Mantis shrimp attack each other and ward off attacks with their tails. Read more and watch the full video: https://www.popsci.com/env

Whoa! Conehead Mantis! 😲🩷💚 Mantids stalk their prey and pounce on it, grasping it with their raptorial forelegs. Only living prey is selected and it is consumed directly after the catch. The predator orients itself optically, and therefore only takes notice of moving prey. The maximum size of prey which mantids can overwhelm is species-specific and depends on the prey type. On average mantids eat crickets of 50% their own body weight, while cockroaches can weigh up to AWEsome video by @malbaf