MANTIS:NATURES MASTER PIECE

MASTER OF DISGUISE

It can be difficult to spot a mantis because it is skilled in the art of masquerade ,mimicking the exact shape of a leaf or hue of a petal. The mantis camouflages itself both to hide from predators, such as birds and lizards, and to catch insects that unwittingly land on it thinking it is a flower or a leaf.
There are 1800 types of mantis, mainly living in tropical climates. There disguises are quite diverse-differing in colour , shape and texture-but all are impressively detailed. For example, the orchid mantis has flanges along its legs and body that take on the exact color and texture of an orchid flower. The mantis sits among the blooms, waiting for its insect pray to approach. To complete its disguise the mantis may even rock gently from side to side, imitating the way a petal might flutter in a slight breeze. Once an insect approaches, the 'flower' bursts in to life and the mantis snatches the creature with its hook lined forelegs.

NOTE:the species of mantis shown above is Choeradodis rhombicollis.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ANIMALS

The chameleon has a tongue that is 1.5 times the length of its body!

Squirrels can't remember where they hide half of their nuts.

Only male crickets can chirp.

A rabbit's teeth never stop growing.

Alligators cannot move backwards.

Texas horned toads can shoot blood out of the corners of their eyes.

The faster kangaroos hop, the less energy they use.

An okapi's tongue can grow to be 17 inches long.
An owl's eyes are bigger than its brain.

Salamanders breath through their skin.

The guanaco of South America, a cousin of the camel, has pads on its feet to keep its feet from burning on desert sand or freezing in mountain snow.

Foxes sometimes nip at the heals of cattle so the stomping of the cattle makes mice and other rodents come out of the ground, for the fox to eat.

Salamanders are known to come out of wood when it was burning inside a fireplace, this is because Salamanders hibernate in wood.

Whether an alligator is a male or female is determined by the temperature of the nest where the egg is hatched – 90 to 93 degrees will make it a male; 82 to 86 degrees will turn it into a female.

Some animals produce their own lights, called bioluminescence. The Brazilian railroad worm has a red light on its head and green lights down its side. All it needs to drive on the street is a turn signal.

You may have heard someone say, "It’s raining cats and dogs." There have been actual documented cases from all over the world of fish, frogs, dead birds, snakes, snails, beetles, worms and jellyfish raining down from the sky in great numbers, but no reports of showers of cats or dogs.

Skunks can shoot their bad-smelling spray only about two yards, but you can smell it up to two and a half miles away.

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.