BENGALURU: In a rare record that has stunned the world of entomology, a male Giant Praying Mantis has been caught devouring fishes.Called ‘aliens of the earth’, the Praying Mantis has been captured feeding on guppy fishes from an artificial pond in Bengaluru. Scientists say mantises usually feed on insects, caterpillars, butterflies and other agricultural pests that help the farmers.
A team of scientists comprising Manjunath Nayak, biodiversity researcher, Wildlife Welfare Society, Karnataka and Rajesh Putttaswamaiah, Scientist, Bat Conservation India Trust, Bengaluru, observed this phenomenon for five consecutive days last March and sent the documented images to renowned Mantis and Grasshopper expert, Dr Roberto Battiston, Italy. Under his guidance, the research paper recording the rare feat was published in the Journal of Orthoptera Research, a top scientific journal.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Manjunath Nayak said, “Apart from this, our research paper has been published in more than 30 leading scientific journals and other magazines in the world. We videographed this rare feat, compiled, documented the observations and sent it to Dr Battiston — a renowned entomologist who has published nearly 100 books on mantises.”
Nayak adds, “My focus is both flora and fauna and I have been doing studies on snakes, medicinal plants, etc. The publication of our research work in one of the top scientific journals has excited us and motivates us to carry forward our research work.”