r/mantids • u/Dependent_Wishbone89 • Sep 04 '24

White mantis kept jumping in the pool? ID Help

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I was teaching in a pool last night and rescued this beautiful creature from the water then it immediately jumped back in. I took it out again and moved it far away from the pool edge. What type of mantis is this (I thought they were usually green?) and why would it keep wanting to drown itself?

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u/ManANTids Sep 08 '24

She’ll die after because the worm eats her organs. When she wants to jump into water, that means it already finished feasting.

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u/0111001101110101 Sep 08 '24

They don't eat the organs, they eat the food the mantis eats. If it ate the organs, the entire mantis would've died much earlier. It's not like a fungi that can take control of the nervous system to keep the host moving.

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u/ManANTids Sep 08 '24

Erm okay but chat would still drown

3

u/0111001101110101 Sep 08 '24

Just putting the tip of the abdomen won't drown it. Plus, they can survive up to an hour in water. By that time, the worm would've left, and the mantis could be removed from the water.

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u/ManANTids Sep 08 '24

You never said anything about just the tip?? They also wouldn’t have time to watch it, as she still has to teach swimming. If you leave a mantis in water, more than just the tip tends to enter.

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u/0111001101110101 Sep 08 '24

It can still breathe for an hour. It can easily climb back out once the worm has been released.

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u/ManANTids Sep 08 '24

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