I am posting this inquiry for a reporter from Alabama. Please reply to brai...@al.com
Ben Raines says: "I am looking for information about swimming behavior in praying mantids. I filmed a mantid on a rocky river last week in Alabama. I watched him jump into the river, which was 60 degrees, and swim across current from rock to rock. He would hunt on a rock, and pick around in submerged algae, then jump into the current and swim to a new spot. Is this a normal behavior for mantids? I was stunned to see him jump in over and over. I watched him for about 10 minutes and filmed him jumping in four or five different times. I have found a 1972 article by P.L. Miller on “Swimming in mantids” but would like to hear from any entomologists / naturalists who know anything about this behavior." Linda S. Fink Duberg Professor of Ecology Department of Biology Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar VA 24595
