Mezmerizing slo-mo of young praying mantises in action

Bob Parks 3:30 am Mon Mar 9, 2015

A University of Cambridge zoologist analyzed almost 400 videos of juvenile mantises jumping onto a pole for a March 5 study in the journal Current Biology. Malcolm Burrows concluded that the bugs spin their bodies to help them land on target.

The actual video from the study is soundless, but for my money, the footage from New Scientist (that linked above) benefits from its Blue Danube soundtrack. The music lends the sequences an air of a very classy insect pole dance.

"Watch a praying mantis perform acrobatic jumps" [New Scientist]

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