i have had a female N. oerstedii for about a month and a half now. she is extremely healthy and feeding from a skewer regularly. occassionally she smacks the feeding stick but it appears as though most of the time she just hits it with her right rapt. the other is functional but she doesnt seem to use it as often. i was just wondering why she does that?
mantis favoring rapt appendage?
- Thread starter gharner
- Start date
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Often times smashers only strike with one raptorial appendage, particularly if the target is too small to hit with both dactyls. (We once did and experiment on this by presenting different sized clay circular targets for animals to hit. We could then measure the indentations caused by the dactyls in relation to the center of the disc. With large targets, there were usually two indentations, one on either side of the center a few mm apart. However, as the targets grew smaller, there came a point that the animal could not hit the disk with both dactyls. They switched to using only one and it hit dead center. You can do the same thing with a short piece of wire. Present it horizontally and the animal strikes with both dactyls. As you make presentations with the wire becoming more vertically oriented, the animal with either turn its body so that the wire is still horizontal in relation to the rapts and both can hit it, or they will switch to using one hitting the verticle target. Sorry for the distratction!)
When feeding on small items that require a single hit by one appendage, smashers will often use one a few times and then switch. Occasionally we will find an animal that appears to be "handed", but since this usually changes over time, I doubt that they are right or left handed like people - but the research has not been done. We also see males that favor mating with the right or left penis (mounting from the right or left.)
Or the appendage could be damaged in some way that you can't see. If it can still be used, it will recover next molt.
Roy
When feeding on small items that require a single hit by one appendage, smashers will often use one a few times and then switch. Occasionally we will find an animal that appears to be "handed", but since this usually changes over time, I doubt that they are right or left handed like people - but the research has not been done. We also see males that favor mating with the right or left penis (mounting from the right or left.)
Or the appendage could be damaged in some way that you can't see. If it can still be used, it will recover next molt.
Roy
