First record of non-carnivore feeding behavior in a wild praying mantis (Mantodea: Mantidae)

Abstract

Praying mantises are recognized as carnivorous, exclusively feeding on live prey. Field observations during a praying mantis survey in the Atlantic Rainforest of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, revealed an adult male of Stagmatoptera precaria (Linnaeus, 1758) feeding on latex exudes of a papaya tree (Carica papaya L). This anecdote is the first record of non-carnivorous feeding behavior in wild praying mantises.

Keywords

• dictyoptera
• natural history
• neotropical
• mantises
• stagmatoptera