Insects

This Will Make Your Skin Crawl: The Brazilian Wandering Spider vs The Hooded Mantis

Published on July 19, 2018

If you are one of those people who can’t stand the sight of insects (bugs), then maybe you should pass this article by, because the video below is bound to make your skin crawl. I don’t have a problem with most insects, but spiders (especially BIG spiders)…well they really give me the creeps. In this episode of MONSTER BUG WARS, we have two really large and very fierce combatants- the Hooded Mantis and the Brazilian Wandering Spider. Both are fierce predators in their own right. But what happens when these two heavyweights of the bug world square-off against each other…well scroll down to the video and see for yourself.

About our two combatants:

#1. The Phoneutria, more commonly named the banana spider or armed spider, is a genus of incredibly aggressive and venomous spiders – so much so that in 2011 they appeared on the Guiness Book of World Records as the most venomous spider in the world! The Brazilian Wandering Spider’s body can reach lengths of up to 2 inches, while its legs can go up to 6 inches. Most of them vary in color but they most commonly come in hairy brown. These arachnids are named wandering spiders because they tend to walk around at night as opposed to building a web and staying in one place like other arachnids. Most of the time they hide in crevices and tight spaces, waiting to hunt other spiders, other insects, small amphibians, reptiles, and even mice.

#2. The Choeradodis is a genus of praying mantises; they’re also known as the shield mantis or the leaf mantis. Why? Because they tend to camouflage themselves in the wild as leaves blowing in the wind. Their large, green, expanded thoraxes resemble a solitary leaf while their long, lanky legs simulate very small branches. And while their natural biology is enough to dupe any inattentive predators, the Hooded Mantis sways back and forth whenever it walks as to further promote its “windy leaf” illusion. They’re usually found in the neotropic ecozones from South America to Mexico, and in Asia they’re in similar regions in India. They hunt by cloaking themselves as leaves and wait for their prey to come into range, then without warning, strike with their legs. Their limbs are embedded with sharp protrusions that pierce their prey and kill them quickly. The mantis eats them afterwards.

Now watch for yourself what happens when these two monsters square-off against each other.