Why do praying mantis eat hummingbirds?

Hummingbirds are a frequent prey item for praying mantises. This may seem surprising given the size difference between the two species. However, praying mantises are actually quite skilled hunters that are equipped to take down small birds like hummingbirds.

Praying Mantis Hunting Abilities

Praying mantises have several attributes that make them effective hunters of hummingbirds:

• Camouflage – Mantises are masters of camouflage and blending into vegetation. This allows them to remain undetected by prey.
• Patience – Mantises are able to sit motionless for long periods waiting for prey to come near.
• Strike Speed – Their forelegs can strike out at lightning speed to grasp prey.
• Grip Strength – Once they grab ahold of prey, the spines on their forelegs allow them to secure their grip.

With these skills, praying mantises are able to remain hidden in flowers and foliage that attract hummingbirds. When a hummingbird comes within reach, the mantis can swiftly strike out and capture it.

Why Praying Mantises Target Hummingbirds

So why do praying mantises specifically target hummingbirds? There are a few key reasons:

1. Abundance – In many habitats, hummingbirds are plentiful, making them a readily available source of prey.
2. Small Size – Although mantises are not large insects, they are well-equipped to handle smaller prey like hummingbirds.
3. Predictability – Hummingbirds’ reliance on flowers makes their behavior more predictable to mantises lying in ambush.
4. Nutrition – Hummingbirds provide a good source of protein, calories, and nutrients to support mantises’ metabolism.

Hummingbirds have very high metabolisms and must visit hundreds of flowers each day to get enough food. This brings them into regular close contact with waiting mantises. The birds small size, abundance, and dependence on flowers make them an optimal prey choice from the mantis’s perspective.

Praying Mantis Hunting Strategy

Praying mantises have evolved highly effective strategies for capturing hummingbirds, which play out in the following typical sequence:

1. The mantis selects a perch within or near a flower that it knows attracts hummingbirds.
2. It positions itself motionlessly and waits patiently for extended periods.
3. Its camouflage allows it to remain unseen by the tiny birds.
4. When a hummingbird approaches, the mantis tracks its movement closely.
5. In a sudden, swift motion it strikes out with its forelegs and grabs the hummingbird.
6. Its spiked forelegs allow it to secure a firm grip on the bird.
7. The mantis then begins consuming its prey while it is still alive.

This strategy minimizes energy expenditure by the mantis but allows it to successfully ambush the agile hummingbirds. The mantis relies on stealth and treachery rather than speed to overcome the hummingbird’s flight capabilities.

How Hummingbirds Are Eaten

Praying mantises do not kill hummingbirds before eating them. They typically consume their prey alive. The process goes as follows:

1. Once grasped in its forelegs, the mantis bites into the hummingbird near its head and neck.
2. It proceeds to eat the flesh of the bird starting with softer body parts.
3. Little effort is made to pluck feathers, so feathers are consumed as well.
4. The mantis continues to hold onto the prey until it is largely consumed.
5. Bones and the least digestible parts may be discarded after the flesh is devoured.

This is a gruesome process for the hapless hummingbird. However, it allows the mantis to begin obtaining nutrients from its prey immediately. Notably, mantises have no venom or other way to subdue their prey quickly. Their strategy relies on their grip strength to keep hold of their prey while eating it alive.

Do Mantises Target Hummingbird Nests?

In most cases, mantises hunt hummingbirds on flowers and do not pursue them back to their nests. There are a few reasons for this:

• Difficulty accessing nests – Hummingbird nests are typically high up in trees and challenging for mantises to access.
• Lack of nest detection – Mantises hunt by ambush and do not systematically search out nest locations.
• Aggression of parents – Adult hummingbirds are fiercely protective and will aggressively defend their nest.

Rare cases have been documented of mantises perching near hummingbird nests and capturing the adult birds as they come and go. But most hunting takes place opportunistically on flowers. The difficulty of accessing nests and the protectiveness of parent hummingbirds make nests an unlikely hunting ground.

How Often Do Mantises Attack Hummingbirds?

It’s hard to provide exact statistics, but some estimates suggest praying mantises may capture up to one hummingbird per week during the summer months depending on the mantis and habitat. Higher estimates range up to 2-3 successful attacks per week. Accurate documentation is challenging, but mantises likely eat dozens of hummingbirds per year.

The frequency of attacks goes up in areas where flowering plants are abundant and mantis and hummingbird populations are high. For example, in California oak woodlands and chaparral habitats where flowering mimulus and agave attract hummingbirds, weekly attacks resulting in predation may occur.

Factors Influencing Hunting Frequency

• Availability of flowers – More flowers means more hummingbirds within range of mantises.
• Time of year – Attacks are more common in late spring through summer when hummingbirds are most active.
• Mantis population – More mantises in an area leads to more frequent predation.
• Habitat – Hunting is more common in open areas than dense forests.

Overall, mantis predation takes a low but consistent toll on hummingbird populations each year. This evolutionary arms race has led to some specialized adaptations in hummingbirds to avoid ambush by mantises.

Anti-Predator Adaptations in Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds have developed some key adaptations to reduce their risk of being caught by praying mantises:

• Caution when approaching flowers – Hummingbirds will slow down and hover cautiously as they approach flowers to check for threats.
• Preferred access behaviors – Hummingbirds prefer to access flowers from below which reduces visibility to ambush predators.
• Color vision – Excellent color vision helps hummingbirds spot colored mantises against green foliage.
• Distraction displays – Some hummingbirds will do distraction displays, such as wing-flashing, to startle ambushing mantises.

These behaviors suggest that hummingbirds are aware of mantises as a key predator. They have evolved specific precautions to reduce their risk of being ambushed at flowers where mantises lie in wait.

Conclusion

In conclusion, mantises are skilled and frequent predators of hummingbirds. Their abilities to remain unseen, strike quickly, and maintain their grip allow them to overcome the challenges posed by the small birds’ speed and agility. Hummingbirds in turn have adapted both behaviors and physical traits to avoid mantis ambushes. This predator-prey relationship continues to evolve as both groups develop new strategies and counter-strategies in the evolutionary arms race between them.