Headless mantis goes on as if nothing at all had happened
Location: Parkersburg, WV
October 9, 2013
I tried to submit another pic a couple of times from my phone, but I couldn’t get the submission form to go through on the mobile version. Consequently, I have no idea whether it went through multiple times or didn’t go through at all. In case it didn’t:
Headless mantis goes on as if nothing at all had happened:
This mantis was part of a mating pair I happened upon yesterday. I saw him with a head and then without one, so I figured he wasn’t long for the world. Imagine my surprise to find him the next morning, quite headless, going at what I would consider a normal mantis clip around the garden. He walked on the mulch and climbed a butterfly bush as if nothing had happened. I have no explanation for this. I didn’t know a mantis could do this, although I’ve heard this sort of story regarding the odd chicken.
Here he is, quite upright, and grasped at a leaf I brushed against him.
Thanks for your time and expertise!
Kitsa
Hi Kitsa,
Thank you for this interesting report. We have heard that a male Mantis will continue to mate if the female bites off his head, but we did not realize the ambulatory powers of a decapitated Mantis could last much longer than the mating activity. Your photo is lacking in detail, but your verbal account of your observations is fascinating.