- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Human: "It's the end of Daylight Savings Time!"
Praying Mantis: "The end of Daylight Savings Time? Does that mean I have to stop scaring the livin' daylights out of a bee?"
Human: "No, it's when we humans set the clocks forward by one hour in the spring, and then in the fall, we set the clocks back an hour."
Praying Mantis: "So if I catch a bee today at 4 p.m., it's actually 5 p.m."
Human: "Correct."
Praying Mantis: "And if I eat the bee at 4:05, it's actually 5:05 p.m."
Human: "Correct!"
Praying Mantis: "And if I catch another bee at 5:30 p.m., it's actually 6:30 p.m.?"
Human: "Correct again! Go to the head of the class!"
Praying Mantis: "Why do you humans have Daylight Savings Time?"
Human: "To get more daylight in the spring. Did you know that New Zealand entomologist George Hudson first proposed modern Daylight Savings Time, so that after his work shift, he could get more daylight to collect insects?"
Praying Mantis: "He wanted to collect ME?"
Human: "Yes, and other insects. He won the Hector Memorial Medal in 1923 for proposing Daylight Savings Time."
Praying Mantis: "But still, why would I want to get up an hour earlier in the spring? Honey bees don't leave their colony to forage until it's around 55 degrees."
Human: "Haven't you heard? Early to bed and early to rise makes a MANTIS healthy, wealthy and wise!"
Praying Mantis: "Go away before I mistake you for a bee."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
So, how do you beat the competition? You defeat 'em and then you eat 'em.
That's what Vacaville resident Mike Castro witnessed recently.
The hot spot: A hanging pot of porcelain flowers, aka wax flowers (Hoya carnosa). When the flowers finished blooming in his garden, Castro transferred the hanging pot to his patio.
Castro soon observed a female and a male mantis "getting busy" (mating) on the hanging rope, but the male did not lose his head.
We showed Castro's images to praying mantis expert Lohitashwa "Lohit" Garikipati, a 2012 UC Davis entomology graduate who is studying for his master's degree in biology it Towson University, Md., with advisor Christopher Oufiero, with plans to obtain his doctorate.
"What he observed is really cool actually!" Garikipati wrote in an email. It's an example of female territoriality. Often times before it gets to this stage, one female (usually the more defensive individual) will attempt to display or throw bluff strikes to deter the aggressor--in this case it is likely a case of beneficial happenstance for the victor; she has less competition now and made a meal of the competitor. What often happens more typically, though, is that the more territorial individual will simply decapitate or de-arm a competitor, but will not consume the entire mantis. I've seen it a lot thanks to captive observation--mantises do seem to recognize conspecifics, or at the very least that an insect is a mantis. Some species even have species specific mating displays!
"Such examples of territoriality can be hard to observe in the wild, but this is one such example!" Garikipati noted. "And for adult females later into the year. competition is indeed stiff and everything that can help them survive and lay eggs is a benefit."
The PPB (Potted Plant Battle) brings to mind the 'ol Western movie phrase, "this town ain't big enough for both of us" which appeared in:
- The Virginian (1929): "Trampas: "This world isn't big enough for the both of us!"
- The Western Code (1932): Nick Grindell: "This town ain't big enough for the both of us and I'm going to give you 24 hours to get out. If I see you in Carabinas by this time tomorrow, it's you or me!"
- A song, "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us," written by Ron Mael and performed by American pop band Sparks, for their studio album Kimono My House (1974).
Researchers, however, attribute the first recorded usage of the phrase to Emerson Hough's 1926 novel, "The Covered Wagon." Jack McPherson, a character in his book, proclaims "There ain't room in this here wagon train fer both of us, an' one of us has got to hit the trail."
Flash back to Vacaville: one female praying mantis did "not hit the trail" when warned--and lost the fight, her head and her body.
And probably her dignity...Girls will be girls?
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Scenario: A female praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, is perched on a daphne.
Pho-tog: "Good morning, Ms. Mantis! How are you today? Hope you're not thinking about catching a bee for breakfast!"
Ms. Mantis: "Oh, no! I would never think of catching a bee! I'm...ahem...allergic to bees. Yes, that's it. I'm ALLERGIC to bees. I'm just...ahem...doing my morning exercises. Gotta stay in shape."
Pho-tog: "Bend and stretch, right? Bend and stretch? No honey bees on the menu?
Ms. Mantis: "Oh, yes, bend and stretch. My morning exercises! No bees on the menu!" (Then she spots a bee below)
Pho-tog: "Hey, wait, why are dropping down in the daphne?"
Ms. Mantis: "Gotta go do my floor exercises now! Yes, that's it. My floor exercises."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The scenario: a male praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, is perched on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden filled with bees and butterflies.
Praying Mantis: "Hey, photographer, take my picture! And, can you make me look like Arnold Schwarzenegger?"
Photographer: "Sure, Mr. Mantis. I can take your picture, but you'll never pass for Arnold. You don't look like a bodybuilder."
Praying Mantis: "Well, at least I can look like an action figure."
Photographer: "Okay. A full body shot...Head, thorax and abdomen. But don't go looking for the ladies! You might lose your head."
Praying Mantis: "No problem. I just want to strike some poses. I'm an action figure."
Photographer: "And no action moves. Don't go looking for a bee while I'm taking your photo! Got that?"
Praying Mantis: "Got it." (And gets a bee) "Sorry, I was hungry."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If Barbie had a praying mantis, it would be pretty in pink.
Do you think Barbie would fawn over a praying mantis nestled in a bed of pink zinnia petals?
We spotted this Stagmomantis limbata in our living laboratory (pollinator garden), and admired her stance. Then Ms. Mantis nabbed an invasive multicolored Asian lady beetle feasting on aphids and proceeded to eat it. (Barbie probably would have preferred a difference menu choice for her pet, such as a stink bug or a cabbage white butterfly.)
"Multicolored Asian lady beetle can be found in almost any type of vegetation that hosts its prey. It was introduced to control soft-bodied pests on fruit and nut trees. Since arriving in California in the 1990s, multicolored Asian lady beetle has become the most common lady beetle in many habitats. It has outcompeted and displaced certain native lady beetles that were more common prior to its arrival in the state."--UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management.
Barbies? I never had a Barbie in my childhood, but the toy, launched in 1959, "has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over six decades," Wikipedia tells us. "Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making it the company's largest and most profitable line...According to MarketWatch, the release of the 2023 film Barbie is expected to create 'significant growth' for the brand until at least 2030. As well as reinvigorated sales, the release of the film has triggered a fashion trend known as Barbiecore."
Did you know that there is a Barbie, the Entomologist? The playset includes a tree for field research, a workstation for lab work, a magnifying glass, and an insect-collecting net. However, the ad writers made a few mistakes that might make a real entomologist cringe. The ad mislabels the chrysalis as a "cocoon," and spiders as "insects." How many bugs in the playset? 2 butterflies, 2 bees, 2 spiders, 1 beetle, 1 water beetle, 1 ladybug (it's actually a lady beetle) and 1 dragonfly.
Missing from the playset is the praying mantis! What happened to the mantis, Mattel?
If Barbie were real, she'd probably want to take Ken and attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on praying mantises from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 27 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. It's free and family friendly.
While there, Barbie could hold a live Madagascar hissing cockroach and/or a walking stick and take a selfie. Hmm, maybe the next Barbie the Entomologist playset will include a cockroach?