---Praying Mantis vs. Hummingbird (pics)---
 

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/si...irdwireJul2005






"Praying Mantis Makes Meal of a Hummer
Though we tend to think of hummingbirds as cute, dainty little things, in reality they make bold and fierce competitors. They don't let their guard down for a moment while defending their territories from other hummingbirds. They must also watch out for other animals that might prey on them, such as American kestrels in North America or tarantulas in South America. Praying mantises are also known to capture and kill hummingbirds, as a reader from West Chester, Pennsylvania, describes. - BWD"




The other day while I was working in the yard my son urgently called to me. "Dad, a praying mantis caught a hummingbird!"


http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/si...ummingbird.jpg
The mantis captures the bird with a swift swipe of its forelegs.



My son is not one to make things up, so I came running to see for myself. By the time I arrived it was too late for the poor hummer and my scientifically minded son had already begun taking pictures and studying the scene.


As you can see from the photographs this hungry mantis captured and killed a hummingbird not much smaller than itself. The mantis used its spiny left foreleg to impale the hummingbird through the chest while leaving his right leg free.

We surmised that the mantis ran the hummer through and dangled its full weight on its foreleg while he consumed the flesh of the hummingbird from the abdomen. After he had his fill, the mantis gave his foreleg several swift jerks and freed his leg.



http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/si...is_hummer2.jpg
The mantis impales the hummingbird's chest with its foreclaws.




This was an unfortunate experience for the hummer, but we are amazed to realize how fast, precise, and powerful the mantis must be to accomplish such a feat!

Richard L. Walkup

West Chester, PA

OFCOURSE already posted. This is gfy.

I bet you feel proud reading someone elses post then reposting it.

sorry, i only come to GFY once every couple of days

Thats enough to know that stuff like this is posted already.

whats the big deal. the same shit gets posted 5-1000 times everyday. and most of it is just cut and paste from other sites. Its a decent post.

we've seen a lot of praying mantis's around here lately. they must be moving out of florida

Are you kidding? Simply by going to bed every night and returning the next morning (within 9 hours) there are already 3 full pages of threads I haven't seen from the night before.

I never saw these pictures or even heard about it, pretty cool.

Seen this already...nevertheless, my sympathy to the poor birdie...

Damn, size can be deceiving. I wonder if that Hummingbird is twice or even thrice its weight.

Thanks for the post felix, thats cool, not everyone is glued here 247 and remembers every post :thumbsup