Accompanying the excellent picture (right) of the praying mantis eating a European wasp in Melbourne (The Last Word, New Scientist, 31 January), the contributor suggested that the mantid has sucked up the wasp's brain and discarded the remainder. In fact, the mantid is eating the last piece of flight muscle from the thorax - the tastiest and most muscle-bound part of the wasp - ideal tucker for a hungry mantis.rnThe head was probably discarded soon after the wasp was captured, as would the abdomen be once the nutritious contents of the thorax were devoured.
展开▼
