Often when people talk about ferocious insects or predators, the Komodo dragon lizard can come to mind because of its massive build and jaws.However, even though it is consistently and aggressively hunted, the praying mantis does not even think twice before getting into a fight with the lizard. Both these two insects indulge in a battle with each other more than you could imagine, also both of them possess equal capabilities defeating the other.It’s a common perception among people that these two insect species can only be found in the desert or arid places (they like to live in warm habitats), but their different species can be seen worldwide. They both have many similarities, yet their differences are quite unique. Belonging to two very different families of the animal kingdom, these animals have various different species with bold hunting skills. The body length of a praying mantis is about 6 in (15.24 cm), while that of the lizard is 0.78-120 in (2-304.8 cm). Their lifespan has broad differences, the lizard can live up to seven years while the praying mantis lives for a maximum of one year. The praying mantis belongs to the insect group comprising 1800 different species of the animal family, and the lizard belongs to the reptile group with 4000+ species.Got an interest in insects? Now you can know more about them by reading the lizard facts and bug vs. insect articles on our page.What is the distinction between praying mantis and lizard?In addition to the basic fact that they do not belong to the same animal group, there are plenty of other differences. While the skin of praying mantis is like an exoskeleton of brown or green color, that of a lizard is like a chameleon as they show the color-changing property of their epidermal scales. The scales of these lizards get their strength from the natural keratin.Praying mantises can camouflage, but they cannot show variation in the color of their skin. The lizard possesses an internal structure of bones, yet some of the species have bony scales. Lizards have one unique feature from other reptiles in that a quadrate bone is present in the skull part of the area of the upper jaw. The praying mantis does not have any bones in its body, it has an exoskeleton.Both of them have different takes on dealing with their predators. Lizard likes to hiss to warn their predators or to step them back. They use other methods also like puffing their body up, camouflaging, or whipping tails. They can use both aggressive and non-aggressive methods for this. While the praying mantis prefers to hide from its predators in order to survive in the wild. It is not an expert in camouflage, but it still uses it to blend into the environment to trick its predators. Some of the species of mantis use their vibrant colorful patterns on their bodies to hide from predators. Praying mantises need water only once in two days.Is it OK to pick up a praying mantis?People do not like holding insects generally or are afraid of their bites or stings. Yet many people are fascinated by the structure of praying mantis and like to hold them in their hands. They like to play with mantises.Holding a praying mantis is not very harmful to you, you can hold them with your hands as they can’t hurt you. Since they are not-so-friendly species and are very fragile, you need to take precautions before you try to hold them. When you try to hold a mantis, firstly wait for the praying mantis to jump on your palm willingly. Don’t try to hold them forcefully and make them sit on your palms as they get defensive this way. Always avoid having them between the fingers, they think that they can get attacked this way. Praying mantises have extremely sharp spines present on their front legs, and if considered a threat, they can even bite you or attack you with those spines. The barbed teeth present on their legs do not allow their prey to escape.Who is stronger, the praying mantis or lizard?Both of them have the skills or techniques to kill each other in a lethal way. However, there are various predators that a praying mantis has, these are small birds, ants, big hornets, reptiles, frogs, lizards, invertebrates, and also spiders.The size of a lizard is way more than that of a praying mantis which can bring the perception that a lizard can overpower a mantis, but the spines and bites of mantis are very harmful if they are engaged in a battle. Even after having a smaller size, the mantis gives a tough fight. Lizards have an advantage of their excess body weight which makes them stronger, but the activeness of mantises and the techniques they use while in a battle with a lizard give them an edge to win. Mantises generally go to attack the mouth area of the lizard to make them blind by using their spines and then harm their jaws.Can a praying mantis hurt you?Praying mantises are well known to have a ruthless killing nature while praying or for defense, but they are not venomous, they only bite to defend themselves, and the chance of getting hurt by the praying mantises is less for human beings.A small insect cannot harm a human being with such a size difference. They generally go for small insects to eat. If you provoke a mantis, only then will it attack as it senses this as a threat. At most, the mantis can jab humans with its spikes present on the legs or bite them. This will not harm you but maybe can hurt a little, not more than a small nick. You can wash that particular area after being bitten by it and put a bandage on that.These creatures like to be alone and enjoy their small world. They do not like the interference of anybody in their daily activities, as they are also not very friendly. If you want to hold them, you should try to do that very gently, else they will not like it. They are just ferocious to the insects and prey they want to eat.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for praying mantis vs. lizard facts, then why not take a look at facts about where bay leaves come from or where beans come from for kids?
Often when people talk about ferocious insects or predators, the Komodo dragon lizard can come to mind because of its massive build and jaws.
