Praying Mantis eating a butterfly

YC Wee
on 21st February 2017

“It was with great luck that I spotted the Praying Mantis catching a butterfly – a Paris Peacock (Papilio paris paris). The mantis consumed the butterfly right in front of me. It was the 8th November 2016 and I was then in Nagaland, India.”

The Paris Peacock is a swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent as well as Southeast Asia (below).

Papilla paris nakaharai (Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons)
Papilla paris nakaharai (Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons)

The Praying Mantis is found mainly in the tropics (below). It has a large triangular head and a pair of bulbous eyes. Its forelegs are spiked and modified for grasping preys. It stays motionless until an insect passes by whereupon it grasps it with its spiked forelegs and eats it live.

Praying Mantis (Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons
Praying Mantis (Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons)

KC Tsang
Singapore
8th February 2017

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

Singapore-Nature: 17. Citizen Science

30th August 2023

Singapore-Nature: 16. Living close to nature

18th August 2023

Singapore’s secret “garden”

20th July 2023

Singapore-Nature: 15. Looking versus studying birds

12th July 2023

Singapore Nature: 14. Accolades

6th July 2023

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