The Praying Mantis And A Piece Of My Childhood Story

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Everyone has their childhood stories, yes, I do too. Can you believe that a praying mantis can understand human language?

When I was a child, I often heard from people in my village, that the praying mantis can understand our language.

Once upon a time, I found my peers sitting in a circle in a small hut that was covered with bamboo. Out of curiosity, I approached the crowd and sat with them cross-legged.

In our midst, I saw a green praying mantis. One of my friends commanded the insect with a finger gesture, "Cangkadak! (We call Cangkadak for praying mantis) Where is the east?" Miraculously, the insect turned its head to the east.

Then the others also asked the insect where the west was, and at that moment the insect turned its head to the West. For a child like me, it was a miracle. An animal is able to understand human language.

Another time, I saw a praying mantis perched on the trunk of a jatropha tree, I took it and put it in the palm of my hand. Then I took it to the porch of my house. Still curious about what I saw the other day, doing the same things my friends did before.

I gave it orders to point north but it didn't move. Then I asked it to show where the south was, and it also didn't move at all.

I was annoyed, why did it want to obey my friends' orders, but did not want to obey my orders. I asked why it didn't want to comply with my request, "can't you understand my language?!" I snapped with a finger gesture, and strangely, the praying mantis followed my index finger by shaking its head.

Suddenly my annoyance disappeared, I jumped happily. It turned out that it understood my language, it shook its head as a sign that it didn't know where north and south were.

It is a piece of my childhood story. Now I often hunt for insect photography, and I often see praying mantises. I watched their behavior.

A habit that occurs in praying mantises, they often turn their heads to the right and to the left, and at certain times they will shake their heads, that they do when they see enemies or prey in front of them. So, not because they understand our language.

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@akukamaruzzaman