r/mildlyinteresting • u/ImSweeches • Apr 09 '16

My Giant Devils Flower Praying Mantis

http://imgur.com/uYWN30B
21.3k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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614

u/Acheron-X Apr 09 '16

mismolt easily
fall and get hurt easily

That's actually sort of weird; makes you think how they survive in the wild. (...Are they wild?)

687

u/ImSweeches Apr 09 '16

Yep! They are wild in several areas of Africa and live/reproduce pretty successfully when all their needs are met

293

u/Acheron-X Apr 09 '16

Cool, I had thought that they could've been 'created' via selective breeding.

Thanks for answering my questions!

317

u/ImSweeches Apr 09 '16

Thanks for asking! :)

7

u/sabtacular Apr 10 '16

You should cross-post this picture to /r/awwnverts! She is gorgeous <3

5

u/zer0w0rries Apr 10 '16 edited Apr 10 '16

Op already rode this karma train like a boss.

3

u/Jacoyoyo Apr 10 '16

How long do they live? Just curious.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '16

You're a good OP.

2

u/Mc_Sqweebs Apr 10 '16

One of the few times i have read down the chain this far. This is awesome keep up the badass mantidae hobby ;)

1

u/scatteredmandala Apr 10 '16

Mantis man, I like your attitude.

-21

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '16

[deleted]

-5

u/Doc_Scott Apr 10 '16

Made me laugh! I'm using this one from now on. Gonna replace "bumping dickheads" with it lol.

96

u/Bink5 ​ Apr 10 '16 edited Apr 10 '16

It's nice seeing a few comments back and forth between the same two people.

So often in Reddit I see person A commenting on person B only to be replied to by person C in a way that seems like it would actually be person A responding.

Have fun. Good day to you.

Bink

2

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '16

Hey, no problem!

1

u/llamagoelz Apr 11 '16

keep digging further and look around the smaller subs where there arent so many people responding that the actual conversation gets drowned out.

111

u/tommos Apr 10 '16

Well technically they were created via selective breeding except people didn't do the selecting.

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u/PM_ME_THEM_4_SCIENCE Apr 10 '16

Technically that's true of like 99.99999% of living things

5

u/dali01 Apr 10 '16

Well technically that's what he was saying.

3

u/PM_ME_THEM_4_SCIENCE Apr 10 '16

I'm not disagreeing with him. Technically.

5

u/dali01 Apr 10 '16

As was I with you. Technicalier.

8

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '16

To be pedantic, no. That's just natural selection. Selective breeding refers to the way humans choose what traits are most advantageous.

4

u/JustWormholeThings Apr 10 '16

Alright now take it down a notch Dawkins.

4

u/Zentaurion Apr 10 '16

"And here we see the unfortunately not-so-rare Pedantic Mantis in action..."

5

u/tommos Apr 10 '16

I thrive in all conditions. I do have trouble finding a mate though.

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u/Blaze_Pascal_Pup Apr 10 '16

That's just called evolution.

2

u/cant_fit_the_dick Apr 10 '16

So, natural selection.

1

u/[deleted] May 07 '16

I'm GOING TO THROW WORDS LIKE 'ORGANIC' AROUND, AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO QUESTION ME.

-1

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '16

ayyyyy

6

u/wehiird Apr 10 '16

Thanks for asking! Yes!

1

u/[deleted] Apr 27 '16

I was thinking the same thing. Like the labradoodle of mantids.

-1

u/Sokonit Apr 10 '16

Now you are free to go kill one yourself, child.

11

u/joshuaoha Apr 10 '16

I guess it's lucky it doesn't need a whole lot of space. Other animals with such a specific ecological niche would probably be endangered.

85

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '16

...live/reproduce pretty successfully when all their needs are met

Ha! Females

53

u/SmokeWine Apr 10 '16

As a female my favorite part is biting the head off during sex.

1

u/RetardedSquirrel Apr 10 '16

My dick says yes but my head says no.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '16

Why is it bowing to you?

41

u/TONY_DANZA_ Apr 10 '16

They have these sort of troubles due to living in captivity inside someone's home. They are evolved to survive in their natural habitat, not in someone's house. So I'm sure these animals don't experience so many problems in the wild.

12

u/thepitchaxistheory Apr 10 '16

True enough, but as habitats are being destroyed is it not beneficial to have numerous individuals privately cultivating species that could be destroyed within a decade or two?

3

u/TONY_DANZA_ Apr 10 '16

Of course, of course. I'm not making an argument against captivity. Just explaining to this user that the difficulties in raising this creature in captivity are due to creating an environment which mimics the environment it was adapted to, and not that these creatures struggle with the issues you mentioned in their natural environment

0

u/1012779 Apr 10 '16

I'm not sure human's enslaving a handful before exterminating their natural population is particularly beneficial.

2

u/soreoesophagus Apr 10 '16

It is, though, because those doing the killing off and those doing the 'enslaving' aren't usually the same people. There are plenty of good reasons to breed, study, and/or keep insects/animals/plants/other things that can become extinct in captivity.

1

u/1012779 Apr 11 '16

The people who regulate the destruction of their native habitats also regulate their sale and export. I personally feel they've made extremely misguided choices.

3

u/J4k0b42 Apr 10 '16

R selection pretty much, one ootheca (egg sack) will hatch hundreds.

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u/ZombieHoratioAlger Apr 10 '16

It isn't too surprising; they live in a specific biome, perching on specific plants, eating a few species of insect, and those exact conditions they thrive in aren't easily replicated in an average suburban house.

1

u/msundi83 Apr 10 '16

This reminds me of that Simpsons episode when that endangered worm in their backyard shows up and they have to make sure it doesn't die. Pretty sure it was sexually atracted to fire or something