Mantids will eat anything that moves...
including other mantids.
Time to leave.
This tiny insect is now open to attack from predators,
lurking in the undergrowth.
Whether an individual mantis survives or not is partly a matter of chance...
whether it's spotted by a predator...
whether it turns right...
or left...
So far, its luck has held.
But this hungry jumping spider is still in pursuit.
A mantis is born with exceptional eyesight.
But the spider's is even better.
Although this young mantis can't yet fly,
its long forelegs, evolved to catch prey, give it reach.
There seems to be no escape.
But this mantis has a surprising line in self-defence.
Kung fu, praying mantis style.
Of course, it's all bluff...
trying to look bigger and confuse its enemy.
But it's got away with it.
Just staying alive for its first few hours
is a significant accomplishment for a newly-hatched insect.
But there's still a long way to go.
With a bit of luck, in two months' time,
it will be as big and beautiful as this orchid mantid.
Or maybe not.
After all, mantids are cannibals.