Lily Rae
Art Education Major, Sustainability Minor, Nature Enthusiast,
and fan of all things creepy crawly.
Hello and welcome back to my third post on the Praying Mantis!
When we last left off, I had said I planned on collecting materials in the natural world that pertain to some of their insane camouflage characteristics and abilities.
To refresh your memory, There are thousands of mantis species, and they all come in incredible colorations and forms that allow them to blend seamlessly into their environments.
I found many different materials, some examples being dried leaves, dried orchid petals, and bark scraps!
Now that we've discussed their insane variation in coloration and shape,
there's another incredible characteristic of the Praying Mantis I would like to introduce you to!
The praying mantis is INSANELY agile.
In my humble opinion, they put a cat's ability to always land on it's feet to shame!
The Praying Mantis can jump and move with extreme precision, and they have the ability to move and contort their bodies in mid air to land on all sorts of precarious and specific targets.
This plays a key role in their ability to hunt.
I've mentioned it in a previous post, but they actually are brilliant creatures,
that are able to calculate dozens of scenarios in their heads to ensure
they don't miss their prey when they strike,
and their ability to move and contort in this way helps ensure that they can catch prey in even the most tricky positions and environments!
Check out this slow motion shot of this wonderous little bug making a crazy leap!
My next step in creating this piece will be to explore further the way the mantis contorts and moves,
and from there I will begin mapping out exactly how the mantis in my composition will be positioned!
I hope you guys enjoyed seeing just how agile these marvelous little creatures are,
and I hope you guys will tune in next week for even more mind blowing information about
the one and only;
Praying Mantis.
Thanks for reading!