This Mantis Uses Kung Fu Stances to Intimidate Predators

Virtually all mantids are known to science as carnivores, but perhaps unsurprisingly, some other creepy crawlies, such as jumping spiders, will also try to snack on mantids when an opportunity arises.

In this video, we see a young mantid trying its luck and evading several potential predators, but one particular jumping spider seems to keep on the mantid’s trail. At some point, the two critters notice one another, and a standoff ensues.

The mantid uses an intimidation technique to try and scare the spider away, using what appear to be ‘Kung Fu’ stances to make itself appear larger than it really is, and it appears to work. The jumping spider turns the other way and looks for something else to eat.

In the end, however, jumping spiders aren’t a mantid’s only predator – so too are other mantids. So perhaps young mantids like this one shouldn’t let their guard down…