Mary Bates, PhD

View Original

How Orchid Mantises Evolved to Mimic Flowers

Photo: Luc Viatour, via WIkimedia Commons. Distributed under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 license.Male and female orchid mantises aren’t just different in size and color – they also have radically different lifestyles. New research suggests the ability to prey on pollinating insects shaped the evolution of the orchid mantis, leading to bigger females that resemble flowers.Read the whole story on National Geographic's Weird & Wild blog: Praying Mantis Looks Like a Flower - And Now We Know Why.