For a long time, scientists assumed the praying mantis is deaf because it does not have ears on its head, it doesn’t make a sound, nor does it appear to respond to sounds.  However, they have found that it does indeed have an ear – no, not two, only one!

One reason the ear was difficult to find is that it is not on the mantis’ head, rather, it is just a slit about one millimeter long on the thorax.  It is thought the mantis cannot translate sounds into directional information like those of us with two ears do.  It does intercept ultrasonic sound such as that emitted by bats.  Since bats feed on insects including the praying mantis, this one ear helps the mantis evade its predator.

Worldwide there are about 2,300 species of mantis and each of them has an enormous appetite.  It eats mosquitoes, caterpillars, aphids, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and pest insects.  To those creatures, the praying mantis must indeed be the dreaded ‘one-eared monster’!

Photo taken 10/26/2018.  This mantis was waiting on the gate to Mambourg Park, one of our locations that will be opened to the public in 2019.  Like the rest of us, it is anxious to get in to see the new trails and nature center!