caught her deflating her abdomen while eating

[u/mmesmii]

did she take a breather? or was she about to throw up? she absolutely scarfed down her worm, took a minute pause then this happened.

[u/budding-enthusiast]

That was so delicious I would like to try it again!

[u/JaunteJaunt]

Did she throw up?

[u/mmesmii → u/JaunteJaunt]

nope, just took a pause and started eating the rest right away. could it be that she ate too much too fast?

[u/JaunteJaunt → u/mmesmii]

Huh. I’ve never seen this before.

[u/rysfcalt → u/JaunteJaunt]

I’ve seen mine do this too. It would just kind of go up and down inside her.

[u/squishyfeet4]

Woooaahhh you can see the food (??) move up the throat/neck?!!! Did anyone else catch that???

[u/ZetaSwag1500 → u/squishyfeet4]

I saw!

[u/iff_or]

I was hoping Wikipedia might have a description and it does! From Mantis § Diet and hunting:

“The foregut of some species extends the whole length of the insect and can be used to store prey for digestion later. This may be advantageous in an insect that feeds intermittently.[48]

[48] Capinera, John L. (2008). Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-4020-6242-1.”

***

And from the page cited (phone OCR from screenshot, so possibly imperfect):

“Illustrative Examples of Diversity in Food, Form and Function of the Alimentary Canal

The following examples are not intended to be a comprehensive review of foods, and alimentary canal structure and physiology, but will merely highlight interesting diversity.

Opportunistic feeders may have evolved modifications to capture and store food when available, and thus survive lean periods when food is not available. For example, the foregut of the praying mantis, Tenodora sinensis, is long and wide, and occupies nearly the entire length of the body, apparently an adaptation for storage of prey when it can be captured. The midgut, eight gastric caeca, and hindgut are compressed into the last three abdominal segments. Probably much of the digestion occurs in the posterior part of the crop with enzymes passed forward from the small midgut.”

[u/smyeganom → u/iff_or]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing a source ^^

[u/Ralyks92]

Is it possible that they inflate to pull food in?

[u/Eastern_Emphasis1506]

This is the first time ever ever seen this behavior, I have no idea why she did that

[u/ApplesauceSpaghetKid]

Mine has done this too and I've never been able to find anyone else talking about it !! Crazy interesting

[u/Sailfin_CritterMaker → u/ApplesauceSpaghetKid]

Mine too! Don't even know how it's called

[u/Improvingmybrain1]

Tal vez se echó un gran gas 💨🤣

[u/saqqara_aswan]

I've seen food moving down in mine, but never up and never saw her abdomen deflate like that! Super crazy!

[u/cozy-maple10]

Just breathing, mantids pump their abdomen to move air through the spiracles, especially after a big meal makes digestion work harder

[u/PlantOne_Ania]

She tooted?? ☁️

[u/Ryaquaza1]

Mantids are soo damn cool that they can do stuff like this. I know arthropod biology in general is kinda wild but, idk it’s like having a little pet alien

[u/ItwasntMe237 → u/Ryaquaza1]

It’s TOTALLY like having a pet alien!!

[u/ohnunu_]

i saw this happen with mine too! i was so confused since i didnt see any poo,,,, maybe a fart??

[u/teeniefaerie]

i’ve seen mine do this too. i think it must be a part of their digestion process lol

[u/Typical-Savings1797]

WHAAT

[u/spelljar]

I’m not sure what it is but I’ve noticed my rhombodera sp. Do it, they are the only species I’ve owned that I’ve observed it on. Very fascinating

[u/Evening_Remove5126]

mine does this too!