Taking the picture must have spooked it, cuz the next thing I know, I'm on my back…
Judo flip!
These things behave really strangely as compared to other bugs. I found one on my yard the other day and as I walked by, I saw it was following me with its head. I went back and forth to make sure I wasn't imagining it. Nope it was intensely looking at me. So I thought… Perhaps it's just assessing a predator and keeping it in sight is a useful survival instinct. Then the mofo jumped at my face. Calculated jump and attack. I grabbed it and put it in a turned over glass and it was pissed at me and continued to stare me down. I had some friends over and they looked into the glass too but nah thing wasn't looking at them. It was looking at me and it looked pissed. I fed her a moth that was flying around by putting it inside the glass with it thinking… Its not going to attack the moth, mantis is probably terrified. Not a time to eat. So I thought. Damn thing proceeded to eat the head of the moth while it kept looking at me in disdain. I had to let the thing go. It was too sentient to be squashed as a bug. So I freed it later that night and made sure I closed the garden door behind me. I don't want that thing strangling me in my sleep.
Later on. That itchy feeling when you try to call asleep. That's her…
Lol, the antennae make it look like he whipped his head over just before he jumped you. Beautiful male Chinese mantis
I recently learned that the closest relatives to mantids are cockroaches and termites, and they have 3 more eyes on top of their heads between their antennae.
They sure do look similar.
Attractive. Brainy. Romantic. Faithful. Makes good food. Gives great head.
- Praying Mantis dating profile
From a very nineties horror flick 'bordello of blood':
'I love a man that gives me head and let's me keep it'
These things were everywhere just last month in my apartment. I've always liked mantises, but they are aggressive little shits that like to pounce at your face.
I can never tell where their "pupils" are looking
It's not actually looking at anything. The pseudo pupils occur because you're staring head on into one of their photoreceptor 'pixels', which is absorbing all of the incident light. Meaning there's no light to reflect back into your eyes. Hence, dark pupil-like spots appear on the compound eyes.
But what do they pray to?
they pray for the extinction of humans
they pray to Epimetheus
Looks more like a judging mantis to me.
He ded. Should be wearing a shoulder-length welding glove.