They found that the mantis’s color fits within the spectrum of floral shades tested but had no identical match, suggesting that when would-be pollinators see an orchid mantis, they detect a color that ...

Praying Mantis Looks Like a Flower—And Now We Know Why. The mantis orchid of Southeast Asia evolved in a way that's completely unique to insects.

While it is indeed a flower mimic—the first known animal to do this—the orchid mantis doesn’t hide in an orchid. It doesn’t hide at all. And to an insect, it doesn’t even look ...

Scientists have believed orchid mantis mimics flowers since the 1800s after it was suggested by naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. However, this concept has, up until now, ...

Luc Viatour, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0 Orchid mantises, as the name suggests, look a lot like orchid flowers. The insects trade the drab colors and sharp angles of their cousins for bright ...

For example, nobody knows exactly which flower the mantis is supposed to mimic. Now a set of new studies by James O’Hanlon and colleagues shows quite clearly that we’ve been getting it wrong all this ...

The rare orchid mantis is native to rainforests in Southeast Asia. Its four walking legs resemble flower petals. The insect has evolved to mimic a generic flower, rather than an orchid.

While it is indeed a flower mimic – the first known animal to do this – the orchid mantis doesn’t hide in an orchid. It doesn’t hide at all. And to an insect, it doesn’t even look ...

The orchid mantis, hidden in the flower of a pink orchid, uses its front legs, covered in dagger-like spines, to spike its prey. According to Melbourne Museum, ...

If an orchid mantis' disguise was too particular, it would limit the number of animals it might fool. Instead, by looking a little like every flower, they can attract even more prey.