Chapter 6 Insects and Praying Mantises

1. Hunting In the south there is an insect that, like the cicada, is very interesting, but not very well known, because it cannot sing.If it also has a cymbal, its reputation will be much greater than that of famous musicians, because it is very unusual in shape and habit.It will be a great player. Years ago, in ancient Greece, this insect was called the mantis, or seer.The farmers saw it half upright, standing on the green grass scorched by the sun, with a solemn attitude, its broad, veil-like thin wings dragging like a mask, its front legs shaped like arms, stretched out into the air, as if Praying, in the eyes of ignorant farmers, it looks like a nun, so later, some people called it praying mantis.

This mistake couldn't be bigger!That seemingly sincere attitude is deceiving. The arm that seems to be raised high in prayer is actually the most terrifying sharp knife. No matter what passes by it, it will immediately reveal its original shape and use its murderous weapon to hunt and kill.It is as ferocious as a hungry tiger and as cruel as a demon. It only eats live animals.It seems that under its gentle veil, there is a very scary murderous look hidden. From the outside, it is not intimidating, on the contrary, it looks quite beautiful, it has a slender and elegant posture, a light green body color, and long wings that are as thin as gauze.The neck is soft and the head can turn freely in any direction.Only this kind of insect can stare in all directions, which can be described as seeing six directions.It even has a face.All this constitutes the tenderness of such a small animal.

Mantis is born with a graceful and graceful figure.Not only that, but it also has another unique thing, that is, the pair of extremely lethal and aggressive rushing and defensive weapons that grow on its forefeet.And the difference between its figure and its pair of weapons is simply too big and too obvious. It's really hard to believe that it is a kind of gentle and cruel little animal. Anyone who has seen a praying mantis will clearly find that its slender waist is very long.Not only is it very long, but it is also very powerful.Compared to its long waist, the praying mantis has longer thighs.Moreover, there are two rows of very sharp sawtooth-like things growing under its thighs.Behind these two rows of sharp saw teeth, there are some large teeth, a total of three.In short, the thighs of a praying mantis are like two rows of serrated teeth.When a praying mantis wants to fold its legs, it can put its two legs in the middle of the two rows of sawtooths, which is very safe and will not hurt itself.

If the thigh of a praying mantis is like a saw with two rows of blades, then its calf can be said to be a saw with two rows of blades.There are many more serrations on the lower legs than on the thighs.Also, the sawtooth on the calf is somewhat different from the one on the thigh.There are also sharp, sharp and hard hooks growing on the serrated ends of the calf, and these small hooks are like golden needles.In addition, there is a double-edged knife growing on the sawtooth, just like the kind of curved scissors used to repair various flower branches. I have many fond memories of those little hard hooks.Every time I think about them, I have an uncomfortable feeling.I remember having had this experience many times before.When I went to the wild to catch praying mantises, I often encountered the powerful self-protection and counterattacks of this little animal. stop.What's more, it always holds on tightly and doesn't let go easily, so I can't get rid of it myself. I can only think of other ways and ask other people to come and help me to get rid of its entanglement.In our country, therefore, there is perhaps no other insect more difficult to deal with and more difficult to catch than this little praying mantis.There are many weapons and hidden weapons on the mantis, so when it encounters danger, it can choose a variety of methods to protect itself.For example, it has a hard hook like a needle, which can hook your fingers with a sickle hook; it has jagged thorns, which can be used to pierce and stab your hands; Big pliers.This pair of pliers is quite powerful for your hand, and it's not a good feeling when it's holding your hand!To sum up, this kind of lethal method makes it difficult for you to deal with it.If you want to capture this little animal alive, you really have to use your brains and spend a lot of trouble!Otherwise, it will be impossible to catch it.This little thing is many times smaller than humans, but it can threaten humans.

Usually, when it is resting and not active, this extremely brave machine that catches other insects just curls up its body on the chest, looking very peaceful, not so aggressive, and even makes people feel very peaceful. You think that this little creature is just a gentle little insect that loves to pray.However, it is not always like this, otherwise, the offensive and defensive weapons it possesses would be useless.As long as other insects pass by them, no matter what kind of insects they are, and whether they pass by by accident or attack intentionally, the praying peace of the praying mantis will disappear in an instant.The little animal, which was curled up to rest just now, immediately stretched out its three joints, so the poor passer-by, before he could fully react, became a captive under the sharp hook of the mantis.It is crushed between the two rows of serrations of the praying mantis and cannot move.Then the praying mantis squeezes its pincers firmly, and all the fighting is over.Neither locusts, grasshoppers, nor even other stronger insects can escape the slaughter of these four rows of sharp sawtooths.So, once caught, he had no choice but to let him go.It's an amazing pest-killing machine.

If you want to study in detail in the wilderness and observe the habits of praying mantises, it is almost impossible.Therefore, we have to bring the praying mantis indoors for observation, analysis and research.If you put a praying mantis in a basin covered with copper wire, and add some sand to the basin, then the praying mantis will live a very happy and satisfied life.All I have to do is provide it with sufficient and fresh food.With the food it needs, it will live a more satisfying life.Because I want to do some experiments to measure the strength of the praying mantis, I not only provide some live locusts or live grasshoppers to the praying mantis, but also some of the largest spiders, to make its body stronger.As for my observation and research, the following is what I observed after I did the above work.

There was such a gray locust, which knew no danger and was fearless, and jumped head-on towards the praying mantis.The latter, that is, the praying mantis, immediately showed an extremely angry attitude, and then reacted very quickly and made a particularly surprising gesture, making the little locust, which was not afraid of anything, at this moment Also full of fear.I am sure you have never seen such a strange face of a praying mantis.The mantis spread its wings so far that they stood up and stood upright like the sails of a ship.The wings are erected on its back, and the upper end of the praying mantis is bent, which looks like a crutch with a curved handle, and it rises and falls from time to time.Not only does it move strangely, but at the same time, it also makes a sound.The sound was especially like the sound made by a poisonous snake breathing out.A praying mantis rests its entire body on top of its hind feet.Obviously, it has put on a posture of always meeting the challenge.Because the mantis has completely erected the front half of its body, and its forearms, which are ready to block and kill at any time, have already been opened, revealing the black and white spots.Such a posture, who can say that it is not ready for battle at any time?

After making this surprising gesture, the praying mantis remained motionless, its eyes fixed on its enemy and its captive, and it was ready to go into battle at any time to meet the fierce battle.Even if the locust moved slightly, slightly, the praying mantis would immediately turn its head, keeping its eyes on the locust.The purpose of Mantis's deadly man-marking tactics is obvious, mainly to take advantage of the opponent's fear, and then continue to put greater panic into the heart of this opponent who will soon become a victim, causing "fueling on the fire." ” effect, putting more pressure on the opponent.Mantis hopes that before the battle begins, the enemy in front of him will be put in a disadvantageous position due to fear, so as to achieve the goal of defeating himself without fighting.Therefore, the mantis now needs to bluff, pretend to be a ferocious monster, and use psychological tactics to deal with the enemies in front of it.Mantis is really a psychologist!

It seems that this well-arranged and designed battle plan of the mantis was completely successful.The little locust, who was not afraid of the sky and the earth at first, was caught by the trick of the mantis, and really regarded it as some kind of ferocious monster.When the locust saw the strange appearance of the praying mantis, it was a little stunned. It stared closely at the weird guy in front of it and didn't move. Dare to easily launch an offensive against the other party.In this way, the locust, which has always been good at jumping up and down, is suddenly at a loss, and can't even think of jumping up and running away.The locusts, already in a panic, completely forgot the trick of "thirty-six strategies, walking is the best policy".The poor little locust was terrified, and timidly lay there, not daring to make a sound.Afraid that if it is not careful, it will die in Huangquan, when it was most afraid, it even moved forward inexplicably and approached the mantis.It was so panicked that it was going to die.It seems that Mantis's psychological tactics are completely successful.

When the poor locust moved just enough for the mantis to touch it, the mantis immediately used its weapon without mercy, and hit the poor thing hard with its powerful "palm". , and then use those two saws to press it firmly.So, no matter how stubbornly the little prisoner resisted, it was useless.Next, the savage devil victor begins to munch on its spoils.It must be very proud of it.In this way, treating the enemy like the autumn wind sweeps away the fallen leaves is the creed that the mantis will never change. When a spider captures food and subdues an enemy, it usually adopts the following method: First, it strikes the enemy's neck violently as soon as it comes up, poisoning it.The advantage of doing this is that if the opponent is poisoned, he will naturally lose his strength and cannot continue to resist and defend.Let's do it first!Similarly, when a praying mantis attacks a locust, it first hits the opponent hard and mercilessly on the neck.After being pounded by the violent bombing, coupled with the extreme fear before, the locust's ability to move gradually declined, and its movements slowly slowed down.Maybe it's because it's been beaten.This approach is both effective and very practical.Praying mantises use this method to win battles repeatedly.This method is very effective whether it is killing and eating animals its size, or dealing with insects larger than itself.However, the most surprising thing is that such a small insect is actually a very greedy animal that can eat so much food.

Those wasps who love to dig the ground can be regarded as one of the delicacies of the mantis, so they are often patronized by the mantis.Praying mantises often haunt wasp burrows.It is not surprising, therefore, to see the praying mantis frequently seen in the immediate vicinity of the wasp's nest.The praying mantis is always in ambush around the hive, waiting for an opportunity, especially one that will yield a double reward.Why is it called double pay?It turns out that sometimes, what the mantis waits for is not only the wasp itself, because the wasp itself often carries some of its own captives.In this way, for the mantis, isn't it a double captive, double reward?However, mantises are not always so lucky, and there are times when they are not so lucky.Sometimes, it often waits for nothing and returns without success.The main reason is that the Hornets already had some doubts, so they were on guard before disappointing the Mantis.However, there are also a few careless people who have noticed it but are still careless, and the mantis catches it at the right time.Why are these ill-fated wasps at the hands of praying mantises?Because, there are some wasps who have just come home from the outside, they are flying with wings, a little careless, unaware of the enemies who have already ambushed.When you suddenly realize that the enemy is approaching, you will be taken aback suddenly, you will hesitate a little in your heart, and your flying speed will suddenly slow down.However, at this critical moment, the action of the mantis was simply lightning-fast.Then, in an instant, the wasp fell into the trap with two rows of serrations—that is, the serrations on the forearm and upper arm of the praying mantis.This is how the mantis was caught off guard and won quickly.Next, the unfortunate victim is eaten bite by bite by the winner.It became another delicious meal for the praying mantis. I remember once, I saw such an interesting scene.A wasp, which had just captured a bee and brought it back to its storeroom, was drinking the nectar from the bee's body.Unexpectedly, when it was eating happily, it was suddenly attacked by a ferocious praying mantis.It was powerless to fight back, so it was captured without a fight.The wasp was eating the honey stored in the bee's crop, but the mantis's saws, inadvertently, clamped firmly on its body.However, at this critical moment of being captured, no matter how frightened, terrified and painful it was, this greedy little animal couldn't stop sucking the honey from the bee's body.It is still eating the fragrant and attractive honey juice.This is so strange, it is true that people die for money, and birds die for food! Praying mantis, such a vicious, devil-like little animal, its food range is not limited to all other kinds of insects.Although the spirit of the praying mantis is particularly sacred, you may not think of it, because it is really incredible.In fact, the praying mantis is an animal that cannibalizes its own kind.In other words, praying mantises can eat praying mantises, including their own brothers and sisters.What's more, when it eats, its face doesn't change, its heart doesn't beat, it's very calm, its appearance is exactly the same as when it eats locusts and grasshoppers, as if this is a matter of course.And, at the same time, the spectators surrounding the cannibal praying mantis did not react or take any action of resistance.Not only that, but these audiences are also eager to try, always ready, once they have the opportunity, they will do the same thing, and they also don't care about it, as if it is logical.In fact, however, the praying mantis even has the habit of eating its husband.This is amazing!When eating her husband, the female praying mantis will bite her husband's head and neck, and then eat it bite by bite.In the end, all that remained were her husband's two thin wings.It's unbelievable. Praying mantises are ten times more vicious than wolves!It is said that even wolves do not eat their own kind.Well, praying mantises are really scary animals! 2. Its nest Although our praying mantis is so ferocious and terrifying, it has so many lethal weapons on its body and such ferocious methods of predation that it even eats its own kind.Even so, praying mantises are the same as humans, not only have shortcomings and shortcomings, but also have many advantages of their own.For example, praying mantises can build very exquisite nests, which is one of the many advantages of praying mantises. Nests built by praying mantises can be found anywhere where the sun shines.For example, in a pile of stones, under a piece of wood, on a branch, in a withered grass, under a brick, under a rag, or on the broken leather of an old shoe, etc.In a word, on anything, as long as there is an uneven surface on that thing, it can be used as a very strong foundation.Praying mantises use this foundation to build their nests. The nest of a praying mantis is about one or two inches long and less than an inch wide.The color of the nest is golden yellow and looks like a grain of wheat.The nest is made of a very foamy substance.Before long, however, this frothy substance becomes solid and slowly hardens.If you burn this substance, it will produce a smell like burning silk.Praying mantis nests vary in shape.This is mainly because the nests are attached to different places, so the nests change with the terrain, and there will be nests of different shapes.However, no matter how varied the shape of the nest, its surface is always raised.This is constant. The entire praying mantis nest can be roughly divided into three parts.Part of it is made of a kind of small piece, and arranged in double rows, covering each other front and back, like tiles on a roof.There are two rows of gaps on the edge of this small piece, which are used as doors.When the little mantis hatched, it ran out from this place.As for the other parts of the walls, they are all impenetrable. Praying mantis eggs are packed in several layers inside the nest.On each floor, the heads of the eggs are facing the door.As I mentioned before, the door has two rows, divided into left and right sides.So, of these larvae, half come out of the left door, and the rest come out of the right door. It is worth noting the fact that the female praying mantis is laying her eggs at the same time as she is building this very elaborate nest.At this time, a very viscous substance will be excreted from the body of the female praying mantis.This substance is very similar to the silk fluid excreted by caterpillars.After this substance is excreted, it will mix with the air, so it will become foam.Then, the female praying mantis will use the small ladle at the end of her body to lather it.This action is especially like we beat egg whites with a fork.The foam produced is off-white, very similar to soap suds.At first, the foam is sticky.But after a few minutes, the viscous foam became solid. The female praying mantis lays eggs and breeds in this sea of ​​foam. Whenever she lays a layer of eggs, she will cover the eggs with a layer of such foam.So, soon, this layer of foam will become solid. Outside the door of the newly built nest, there is a layer of material, which seals the nest.It seems that this layer of material is different from other materials—it is a layer of porous, pure and matte powdery white material.This is completely different from the gray and white color of other parts inside the praying mantis nest.It's as if bakers whipped egg whites, sugar, and flour together to make a biscuit coating mixture.Such a snow-white shell is easy to break and fall off.When this layer of shell fell off, the doorway of the praying mantis nest was completely exposed. It can be seen that there are two rows of plates in the middle of the door.Before long, the wind and rain will eat it away and peel it into little pieces.These small pieces will gradually fall off.Therefore, on the old nest, no trace of it can be seen. As for these two materials, although they look different from the outside, in fact, their textures are exactly the same.They are but two different manifestations of the same essence.The praying mantis sweeps the surface of the foam with its scoop, then skims off the floating skin, forming a strip that covers the back of the nest.This looks, like that frosty belt.So the substance is really just the thinnest, lightest part of the goo.The reason why it looks whiter is mainly because its foam is finer and its light reflection is stronger. This is really a very strange way of operating.It has its own set of methods, which can quickly and naturally make a horny substance.Thus, the first eggs of the praying mantis were laid on this substance. The praying mantis is a very capable animal indeed, as well as a very architectural one.As it lays its eggs, it excretes protective foam, creating a coating as soft as sugar, and at the same time it creates a kind of covering sheet and a path for passage.While doing all this work, the praying mantis just stands at the foot of the nest, does not move, and without moving its body, builds a wonderful building behind it, and it itself is very concerned about this building. Not even looking at it.Its thick and powerful thighs were useless in the whole process of this matter, they could not play any role, they did nothing at all.All of these complicated tasks are completely done by this little machine. When the mother's job was successfully completed, she quit, let go of everything, and ran away.I always have a glimmer of hope for it, looking forward to it being able to come back one day to take a look, in order to show some of its love and concern for the whole family's production place.However, this hope of mine has never been realized.It seemed obvious that this was of no interest to it at all.It really is gone forever. So, from this fact, I have come to the conclusion that praying mantises are heartless creatures who do things that are cruel and vicious to the extreme.For example, it eats its own husband as a good meal, and it actually abandons its own children, abandons its home and never returns. The hatching of praying mantis eggs is usually carried out in a sunny place, and it is about ten o'clock in the morning in mid-June. In the previous article, I have already told everyone that in this praying mantis nest, only a small part can be used as a way out for the praying mantis larvae.This part refers to the scales in the nest.Observe carefully, and you will find that under each scale, you can see an object, and there is a small transparent piece.Behind this small piece, there are two big black spots next to it.It was nothing but a pair of small eyes of that cute little animal.The young praying mantis grub lay quietly under the thin sheet.If you take a closer look, you will find that almost half of its body has been liberated now.Next, let's take a look at what the body of this little thing looks like.Its body color is mainly yellow with some red color.It has a very fat and very big head.Judging from the outer skin of the larva, it is very easy to distinguish its extremely large eyes.The larva's small mouth is attached to its chest, and its legs are tightly attached to its abdomen.This little larva, judging from its appearance, except for its legs that are close to its abdomen, other parts can remind people of the state of another animal, that is, the cicada that just left the nest. initial state.This state is very similar to the praying mantis larva at this time. Like cicadas, for the sake of convenience, but more importantly, for the sake of safety, it is indeed necessary for a young praying mantis to wear a strong coat when it comes to this world.If the larva were to crawl out of the very narrow and winding path of the nest, if it were to try to fully extend its lower legs, that would be an improbable event.This is mainly because if it fully stretches its body, lifts up the spear that is still lacking in strength to kill the enemy, and then erects its very sensitive tentacles, then in this way, it will completely It blocked its own path, so that it could not move forward, and it was impossible to crawl out of the passage.Because of this, when this little animal first came to this world, it was wrapped in a swaddle, which was shaped like a boat. Not long after the young larva is born and appears under the sheet in the nest, its head gradually enlarges until it is shaped like a blister.This powerful little life, shortly after birth, began to rely on its own strength to survive.It kept pushing and shrinking for a moment, trying to free its body.In this way, every time it makes a movement, its head will become slightly bigger.The end result was that the outer skin of its chest had finally ruptured.Therefore, it will work harder and "pursue the victory".It swings more violently and faster.It struggled, exhausted all its strength, and kept bending and twisting its small torso.It seems that it is determined to break free from the shackles of this coat without hesitation, and wants to see what the big world outside looks like right away.Gradually, the first to be freed are its legs and tentacles.Then, it continues to work tirelessly.After several more swings and struggles, finally, its purpose and intention were fully realized. There are hundreds of little praying mantises, and they are crowded together in groups in the not-so-spacious nest. This scene is really a rare spectacle!When the praying mantis larvae in the nest have not collectively broken their coats and rushed out of their swaddling clothes collectively, before they become the form of praying mantises, they first expose their pair of small eyes.We rarely see a single animal acting alone.On the contrary, as if there were some signal of unified action, and whenever this signal came, it was so fast that almost all the eggs hatched at about the same time, broke their coats together, and pulled out of the hard shell. body.Therefore, in an instant, the middle of the praying mantis' lair was like a meeting, and countless larvae gathered at once to fill this not-so-large place.They scrambled almost frantically, as if excited and eager to shed at once the pesky coat that plagued their lives.After that, they either accidentally fell down, or crawled vigorously to other branches and leaves near the nest.After a few more days, another colony of larvae will be found in the nest, and they will perform the same work as their predecessors until they are all hatched.So, reproduction goes on and on. However, one thing is very unfortunate!These poor little larvae have hatched into a world full of danger and horror, maybe they don't know it yet.There have been many times when I saw the eggs of praying mantises hatching, and small larvae broke out of their shells one by one, in the fence outside the door, or in those secluded places in the woods.I always have a beautiful wish, hoping to do my best to protect these lovely little lives so that they can live in this world safely and happily.But, unfortunately, this wish always comes to naught.It's been at least twenty times, (many more than that actually) I've always seen that very brutal sight, always witnessed that horrible spectacle.These little larvae who don't know what is dangerous are slaughtered when they are still young. Before they have time to experience life and appreciate the preciousness of life, they have already ended their young lives. What a pity!The praying mantis lays many eggs, but in fact, it does not lay a very large number of eggs.At least, the eggs it lays are not enough to resist those powerful enemies who have been lying in wait for a long time at the door of the nest, and once the larvae appear, they will lose no time in killing them. For praying mantis larvae, their most lethal natural enemies are ants.Almost every day, intentionally or unintentionally, I would see an ant coming to the side of the praying mantis nest, patiently and confidently waiting for the right time to take immediate preemptive action.As soon as I saw them, I did everything I could to help the mantis drive them away.However, to no avail.My abilities often fail to dislodge them.Because they are often one step ahead of others and take the lead in occupying a favorable position.It seems that the time concept of ants is still very strong, but although they have been waiting outside the gate early, it is difficult for them to go deep into the nest.This is mainly because there is a hard and thick wall around the praying mantis nest, which forms a very strong barrier, so the ants are helpless against it.Their wisdom is not enough to make them think of a way to break through this barrier.However, they are always in ambush at the door of the nest, waiting for their captors. Therefore, the situation of praying mantis larvae is very dangerous indeed.As long as it accidentally steps out of its own gate, it will immediately fall into the abyss and ruin its own life.Because the ants waiting by the nest will not easily let go of any good meal.As soon as a prey pokes its head out, it is seized immediately, and then the larvae are stripped of their coats and cut into pieces without ceremony.In this battle, you can see that those small animals that can only use random swaying to protect themselves are fighting fiercely with the very fierce and cruel brigade of robbers who came to capture food.Although the little animals are very weak, they still persist, struggle, and never give up their desire to survive.But how pitiful is this struggle compared with those vicious people!It didn't take long, that is, a short time, that this bloody massacre was declared over.After the massacre, what remained were but a few survivors who happened to be lucky enough to escape the clutches of the enemy.All the other little lives have become food for the ants.In this way, an originally thriving family declined. This is a very strange thing.As we mentioned earlier, the praying mantis is a very ferocious animal.It not only attacks other animals with sharp lethal weapons to hunt for food, but also feeds on its own kind, and when eating the flesh and blood of its own compatriots, it is still so calm and magnanimous.However, is this praying mantis, which can be regarded as a plague among insects, now, in the early stages of its life, itself sacrificed under the claws of the smallest among insects, the ant?The creations of nature are really incredible!This little devil watched its own family being destroyed in this way, and its own brothers and sisters were bullied and devoured by such a group of little dwarves, but it was helpless.I can only foolishly watch my relatives stay away from this dangerous world. However, this situation will not last for a long time.Because, only those larvae that have just come out and just hatched from the eggs are caught by accident.However, when these larvae come into contact with the air, it doesn't take long for them to become very strong.In this way, gradually, it has the ability to protect itself, and it is no longer those poor creatures who are slaughtered by others! After it grows a bit, the situation is very different.It walked quickly through the ants. Where it passed, the enemies who had attacked arbitrarily fell down one after another, and no longer dared to attack and bully the "weak" who had grown up.The praying mantis rests its forearms on its chest as it marches, in a state of self-defensive alert.Its proud attitude and air of not being underestimated have already frightened this group of little ants.They no longer dare to act rashly, and some have even fled. But, in fact, the enemies of mantises are not only these small ants, but also many other enemies.These natural enemies are not so easy to scare.For example, the small, gray lizards that live on walls can be difficult to deal with.The little mantis is completely indifferent to the defensive and intimidating gestures.The way the little lizard attacks the praying mantis is mainly to use the tip of its tongue to lick up those small insects that have just escaped the ants tiger's mouth one by one.Although a small praying mantis can't fill the mouth of a lizard, it can be clearly seen from its facial expression that the taste is very good.It seems that it is quite satisfactory.每吃掉一个，蜥蜴的眼皮总是要微微一闭，这的确是一种极端满足的表现。然而，对于那些年轻的、仍不走运的少年螳螂而言，它们真可谓“才出龙潭，又入虎穴”啊！ 不仅仅是在卵孵化出来以后是如此的危险，甚至就是在卵还没有发育出来以前，它们就已经处于万分危险之中了。有这样一只小个儿的野蜂（challis），它随身携带着一种刺针，其尖利的程度，足可以刺透螳螂的由泡沫硬化以后而形成的巢穴，这样一来，螳螂的血统，就如同蝉的子孙后代一样，遭受到相同的命运。这样一位外来的客人，并没有受到谁的邀请，就在螳螂的巢穴中擅自决定产下自己的卵。它的卵的孵化也要比这巢穴的主人的卵提前一步。于是，螳螂的卵就会顺其自然地受到侵略者的骚扰，被侵略者吞食掉。比如说螳螂产下一千枚卵，那么，最后剩留下来的，没有遭受噩运而被残酷地毁灭了的，大概也就只有一对而已了。 这样一来，便形成了下面这条生物链。螳螂以蝗虫为食，蚂蚁又会吃掉螳螂，而蚂蚁又是鸡的食品。但是，等到了秋天的时候，鸡长大了，长肥了，我又会把鸡做成佳看吃掉，这可真有趣！ 或许螳螂、昨晚、蚂蚁，甚至是其它个儿头更小一些的动物，食用之后都可以增加人类的脑力。它们采用一种非常奇妙但又见不到的方法，提供给我们的大脑某种有益的物质。然后，作为我们人类思想之灯的油料。它们的精力慢慢地发达起来，然后贮蓄起来，并且一点一点地传送到我们身体的各个部位，流进我们的血脉里。它们滋养着我们身上的不足之处。我们就是生存在它们的死亡之上的。世界本来就是一个永无穷尽的循环着的圆环。各种物质完结以后，在此基础上，各种物质又纷纷重新开始一切；从某种意义上讲，各种物质的死，就是各种物质的生。这是一个十分深刻的哲学道理。 很多年前，人们总是习惯性地把螳螂的巢看做是一种充满迷信的东西。在布罗温司这个地方，螳螂的巢，被人们视为医治冻疮的一种丹灵妙药。大多数人拿一个螳螂的巢，然后把它劈开成两半，挤出里面的浆汁来，涂抹在痛楚的部位。农村里的人常说，螳螂巢的功效，就仿佛有什么神奇的魔力一样。然而，我自己从没有感到它有什么功效。 与此同时，也有一些人盛传，认为螳螂巢医治牙痛非常有效。假如你有了它，也就用不着再怕什么牙痛了。一般情况下，妇女们常常在月夜里到野外去收集它，然后，很小心地收藏在杯碗橱子的角落里，或者是把它们缝在一个袋子里面，仔细珍藏起来。如果附近的邻居们，谁要是患了牙痛病的话，就会跑过来，借用它。妇女们管它叫做“铁格奴（Tigno）”。 如果是脸肿了的病人，他们会说：“请你借给我一些铁格奴，好吗？我现在痛得厉害呢！”另外的一个就会赶快放下手里的针线活儿，拿出这个宝贝东西来。 而她会很慎重地对朋友说：“你随便做什么都可以，但是不要摘掉它。我只有这么一个了，而且，现在又是没有月亮的时候！” 没有想到，农民们的这种心理上的简单而幼稚的反应，竟然被十九世纪的一位英国医生兼科学家所超越。他曾经告诉过我们如此荒唐可笑的事情。他说在那个时候，如果一个小孩子在树林里迷了路，他可以询问螳螂，让它指点道路。并且，他还说道：“螳螂会伸出它的一足，指引给他正确的道路，而且很少或是从不会出错的。”