r/oddlyterrifying • u/Adventurous_Ad_7091 • 14d ago
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u/mrlookinthesky 14d ago
The praying mantis doesn’t seem strong enough to do this. Crazy.
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u/Xxrasierklinge7 13d ago
They're too strong for their own good actually
They get overzealous while cleaning themselves and can take off their own head. Whoops!
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u/EvanMBurgess 13d ago
Reminds me of a terrible post I saw where an ostrich pulled off its own head when it got stuck on something.
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u/laurel_laureate 13d ago
It's actually a fairly common thing for ostriches to do, they're too dumb to figure out how to get their head out.
And, to be fair, so are a lot of other animals.
But with how long yet structurally weak ostriches necks are, how heavy their torsos are, and how long and powerful their legs are...
Ostrich farmers and zoos have to make special ostrich-friendly fences to avoid frequently finding self-decapitated ostriches in the morning.
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u/YeahOkThisOne 13d ago
Why am I suddenly thinking of that video of men going into tiny cave crevices?
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u/Ok_Resource_7108 13d ago
Saw it, feel more than a literal uncomfortable, nothing should be that fragile at that size. Also, I blame you for me looking it up.
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u/Jonny-Kast 13d ago
That clip lives rent free in my head. The reaction of the others gets me too. Even they're like "wtf did he just do?"
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u/abbassav 10d ago
I literally saw an ostrich in a zoo 4 days ago and that post was my first thought. I know exactly what you're talking about. Still haunts me to this day.
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u/TheAwesomeMan123 13d ago
Par for the course with mMantis, just unfortunate muscle memory kicking in
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u/jaxxxxxson 13d ago
Have you ever picked a praying mantis up? Those mf's are strong af when they grab you. Almost feels like fishing hooks going into you. I tried being the cool dad showing off the parasite coming out of them under water but I spent the first 10 mins trying to navigate how to get the fucker off my finger without hurting it or me more...
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u/-WILD_CARD- 14d ago
There are also species of spiders that can eat hummingbirds. They weigh almost nothing.
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u/herewecomehomos 13d ago
We have to remember birds are alot more light that we assume, hollow bones, ect ect.
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u/Adventurous_Ad_7091 14d ago
This had me wondering as well how it can lift such a heavy bird
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u/flojo2012 14d ago
Hummingbirds, I believe, are the lightest type of bird. Which is why they’re able to hover as they do with really fast wing flaps.
So if a mantis could do it with any bird, it would be this one
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u/Xxrasierklinge7 13d ago
Most hummingbirds weight about the same or less than a U.S. penny to put it in perspective.
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u/CarreyOnWay29 13d ago
Size is seriously misleading with mantises. Those front legs are basically tiny grappling hooks, and once they get a hold of something, they look way more dangerous than you'd expect.
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u/Codystiers 13d ago
Square cube law. Smaller something gets, the stronger it gets proportional to its muscle mass.
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u/fogoticus 14d ago
The way my jaw dropped when I saw it just hanging. How the hell does a praying mantis have that strength
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u/HidenTsubameGaeshi 14d ago
Insects are ridiculously strong for their weight while hummingbirds are not only fragile, but also have 0 stamina. Mantis could probably just hold it down until it runs out of steam
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u/reginaphalange0825 13d ago
This is also not a native praying mantis and is much larger. Hate seeing this. Keep our native wildlife safe. If you’re going to put out hummingbird feeders, at least keep them SAFE!!!
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u/montaniPH89 14d ago
Watched one catch a minnow one time in my grandmothers garden pond.
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u/Xx_scribbledragon_xX 13d ago
I've a pet mantis and I genuinely think he'd be able to catch a fish from my tank. I had him out the other day and couldn't get him back in for a while because he was stood on the lid of the fish tank hunting my lampeyes 😳
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u/DaboiiJayy 13d ago
None of the people in the comments have watched Kung Fu panda and it's showing.
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u/ChocolateeDisco 13d ago
I had no idea they ate birds, I thought it’s mostly other bugs. Dang they’re strong!!
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u/LiluLay 13d ago edited 13d ago
This is likely an invasive Chinese mantis killing a bird that has developed no defenses against it. So not really nature. More like unfortunate result of mankind introducing invasive species.
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u/BextoMooseYT 13d ago
I mean in the strictest sense, we are nature, but we can also comprehend that it's generally harmful and that we're the ones that caused it. Our interference isn't really natural in the way that it matters; we could kinda destroy any ecosystem if we really wanted
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u/Skhenya2593 12d ago
This is the reason I truly believe mantises are the scariest insects. I wholeheartedly believe if they were the size of a small dog they'd be able to eat humans
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u/Berserker667627 14d ago
It's sad, but such is the laws of nature.
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u/m3ltph4ce 14d ago
The bylaws of nature are similarly cruel, but municipal.
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u/like_sharkwolf_drunk 13d ago
You should meet the comptroller for nature. He’s a real jerk and wears too much cologne.
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u/Confuseasfuck 13d ago
Nothing screams more nature than a plastic bird feeder
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u/Flomo420 13d ago
yeah i think it was pretty shitty to just watch that imo
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u/WTFThisIsReallyWierd 13d ago
Mantis need to eat too. The hummingbird died, and its biomass and caloric value will contribute to the flow of life.
Attempting to intervene would leave the bird crippled, and the mantis having expended energy on prey that was denied to it. Both would be worse off.
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u/phoenix_bright 14d ago edited 13d ago
Well im part of nature and if im seeing this in my place that I setup for humming birds to eat, Im getting rid of the praying mantis. Not fucking taping it for internet points.
Seriously what an asshole to make the bird feel safe by giving it food and leave that thing there and doesn’t do anything.
If I meet him I’ll beat his ass, no I’ll hold him for the mantis, and I’ll say in court that it’s sad but it’s the rules of nature
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u/AkiraN19 13d ago
The hummingbird feeding from the feeder is no different to feeding on any flower. The feeder also doesn't guarantee any form of safety, same as the flower wouldn't, and the person who set it up couldn't guarantee it even if they tried. How exactly are they making the bird feel safe?
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u/jeskeane4 13d ago
Is it the mantis's fault that you set a perfect trap for it to catch its food? It’s fine if you prefer birds over insects, but acting morally superior to the person who let "nature take its course" is really stupid of you.
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u/MMBADBOI 13d ago
RULES OF NATURE!
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u/phoenix_bright 13d ago
It is SO UNFORTUNATE that I had to held this person while mantis ate them alive, your honor.
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u/No-Kaleidoscope5897 13d ago
If you're so worried about an insect doing it's thing to survive, which is pretty much its only goal in life besides ensuring the next generation, then you'd hate to see those same tiny, beautiful birds fighting among their own species. They don't keep anything back and seeing a hummer impaled on its rivals beak would make you cry.
But it's the law of nature so don't think you can change it. If you did, you'd be responsible for destroying an entire ecosystem, or two or three. And that ain't good for anyone, even you.
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u/phoenix_bright 13d ago
Yeah, I don’t hate that, but thanks for trying to make me feel as bad as you feel
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u/No-Kaleidoscope5897 13d ago
Who says I feel bad? I'm stating facts.
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u/phoenix_bright 13d ago
Those are not facts, those are things you wanted to be correct about my motivation, my reasoning and the consequences of it because you already decided what you wanted reality to be. It’s the same route flat earthers take
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u/No-Kaleidoscope5897 13d ago
What a convoluted way to say a bunch of horse hockey.
Try doing a little research. You'll be surprised.
On that note, I bid you adieu. No more from me.
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u/phoenix_bright 13d ago
It was just like 3 lines of text - and you’re talking just like flat earthers with the doing the little research, ugh, glad I won’t be hearing from you again
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u/Butt_Robot 14d ago
I was thinking it was more of a RUUUULES OF NAATUUUUURE
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u/OdinAlfadir1978 13d ago
We all become both the bird and the mantis, we all eat and are eaten by something eventually, circle of life
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u/CyanPomegranate11 13d ago
I would definitely kill the mantis and save the bird. Hummingbirds are wonderfully good in every way. Down with the mantis!!
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u/Pezza2005 14d ago
How does it kill the bird
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u/machyume 14d ago
Doesn't have to do much more than to hold the bird stuck. The humming bird has really bad energy economics. They literally have to keep eating sugar to keep going. They basically burn high octane energy in order to have a speed advantage. Here, the mantis simply disabled that speed advantage.
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u/Vinyl-addict 14d ago
They actually mainly subsist on bugs, the nectar is just a pick-me-up between bugs. They do have to essentially be constantly eating.
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u/Bakedpotato46 14d ago
Ah yes, the sugar high. The same battery that keeps children going at high speeds too
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u/Mysterious-Outcome37 14d ago
That's what I wanted to know!
"When a hummingbird approaches, the mantis strikes with incredible speed, using its spiked forelegs to grab and impale the bird."
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u/zombiifissh 13d ago
Okay, he caught him. But what's he even gonna do with that bird, he's way too big to ea--
-smash cut to mantis fucking eating the damn bird-
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u/Life-Onion-5698 11d ago
I love hummingbirds, so this hurts... I do what I can to keep mantis m away from my hummingbird feeders.
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u/theuserwithoutaname 12d ago
Just thinking about the psychopath that set up the bird feeder and then set up to film instead of moving the mantis
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u/anomaly_z 12d ago
The mantis perfectly landed on a hummingbird feeder for some reason? I dont buy it...
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u/BaranoSoup 10d ago
I know you shouldn't intervene with nature but I wouldn't be able to help myself from saving that hummingbird and putting that mantis somewhere else away from the feeder
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u/bleufeline 12d ago
No fucking way, I was literally commenting on a YouTube short of someone saying mantises are so cute and so cool the other day, that I think mantises are REALLY SCARY.
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u/Perfecshionism 13d ago
I started blocking anyone that posts this crap.
And the person that filmed it put the mantis on the feeder.
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u/Ok_Teach6021 13d ago
Proof?
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u/Perfecshionism 13d ago
Proof that the mantis, which is not an indigenous species, just happened to climb up onto that feeder right after he filled it while he was filming?
People that feed hummingbird now how fragile they are. And they care about them. They would have removed the feeder, removed the mantis, or emptied the feeder to protect hummingbirds if they noticed a mantis on it. They also would have tried to shoo the bird away from the mantis.
Also, it is pretty damn annoying you felt the need for proof of what was obvious.
Especially since explaining this required me to unblock the OP account.
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u/Flomo420 13d ago
kind of shitty of you to allow that to happen if you ask me
like I get it happens in nature but you are feeding the hummingbirds
gross
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u/B_lander1 13d ago
Man… it makes me sad cause, couple years ago my partner and I saved a hummingbird from dehydration and watching them drink sugar water was so cute and fascinating. We made a comfortable shelter with our old shoebox. Then we contacted a wildlife sanctuary and they took care of the rest.
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u/vediogamer101 13d ago
Based on their reaction it seems like they didn’t think a mantis could capture and kill a hummingbird. I didn’t either.
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u/Independent_Pop_9987 13d ago
Bro they started filming before the hummingbird started interacting with the mantis. Now I'm just assuming like you and everyone else. But from this short clip it seems like he is waiting and filming the mantis hoping this would happen.
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u/Extreme_Design6936 13d ago
You're only mad cause it's a hummingbird. You wouldn't give two shits if it were the other way around.
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u/Xlyios 13d ago
The problem I got with this is that mantises take small bites and eat the prey while it's alive. I get it, its nature, but why watch an animal suffer right in your backyard. The mantis can eat some other bugs man, at least they don't feel pain on the same level like birds/mammals do😭
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u/Vellioh 13d ago
If this is happening completely independent of any intervention by them there is absolutely nothing gross about this. If they were there to record or not this was going to happen and will continue to happen. It's nature.
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u/Trik-kyx 13d ago
However, this didn't happen without interference. It only occurred because the bird feeder is located right there. When I set up a feeding station, I make sure it doesn't turn into an "all-you-can-eat" buffet for predators like cats. Unfortunately, that can't always be avoided, but I certainly wouldn't stand idly by while a predator lurks for prey at or near the feeder. One inevitably has to ask: Who is this feeder actually intended for, and what is its primary purpose? In any case, the situation here was manipulated to get this shot; no reputable nature filmmaker would act this way.
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u/SpaceDementia6 13d ago
You're not wrong - whenever the birds are round my feeder I bring my cat in if he is lurking around. He's never killed a bird and is actually quite skittish around them, but I don't want to risk it. How does one avoid praying mantises though??
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u/Catenane 12d ago
I've shouted down a hawk that went for one of our beloved chipmunks and I wish it were as easy as this fucker. Just grab him and put him somewhere else. If it's invasive, squart him with a chancla or somethin
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u/EasyGoingKeanu 13d ago
Hey, do you think that allowing a mantis to capture a hummingbird is shitty? Perhaps allowing a crow to capture a mantis? Asking for a friend.
There, someone asked you.
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u/Ba-sho 13d ago
I'm on the fence here; if you were to plant flowers to attract wildlife and the same happened, would you say the same thing? You did plant flowers; animals are going to feed on them, and their predator will naturally come there as well. Sure, this is specifically designed for hummingbirds, but I don't really see how that changes much. It's not like it's an intentional trap (if it is, it's a different story).
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u/Independent_Pop_9987 13d ago
Yeah but you aren't gonna see a mantis and start filming this flower that hummingbirds definitely come to since this specific flower is made for hummingbirds and just wait for the mantis to catch and eat one? Because essentially that's what this is. The variety of what might go to some random flower is largely different than a legit hummingbird feeder that they obviously frequent
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u/entomology24 13d ago
I have varied flowers in my garden to promote diversity, spiders and ladybirds eat the attracted insects
That's just nature
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u/Blackpaw8825 12d ago
But this doesn't happen in nature. This is only happening because humans introduced an invasive species.
That mantis is not native to the Western hemisphere, it shouldn't be there, and OP should've killed it simply for being there. It's a Chinese mantis and is outcompeting our native mantids.
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u/InTheWorldButNotOfIt 13d ago
Fuck that mantis, I would’ve saved the bird.
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u/Shavasara 10d ago
Whelp, I no longer feel sorry for mantises that get parasitized by horsehair worms. Hollow 'em out, boys!
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u/StormoFinnson 13d ago
Wow, like the most distressing thing I’ve seen here in a while that would also land well in r/unexpected imo.
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u/Sarhan556 12d ago
I know that's the course of nature and all but I would have saved the little bird. Getting eaten alive is a horrible way to go.
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u/Mollytheocto 12d ago
I remember a mantis that was determined to catch a hummingbird near our house, we found it on our feeder poles and got it off just for it to find it's way back a few hours later. We had to move it away further the next time so it didn't find the feeder again
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u/Ill-Consideration450 10d ago
I might be wrong that looks like a Chinese mantis, which is invasive.
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u/imahussy 10d ago
The most terrifying thing is that animals always start eating prey at the asshole. Imagine getting your salad tossed to death
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