Photo by Alex Staniloff
While we know there are plenty of The Bugs Who Must Not Be Named in the subway system, what other living creatures are lurking below? Tipster Alex Staniloff sent us this photo of what he says is a praying mantis (we've sent the photo to the AMNH to clarify)—he took the photo this afternoon on the N train somewhere between 14th and 34th streets.
Maybe this gloriously green critter will eat the bed bugs on that train? Nope. Lou Sorkin (an AMNH entomologist) has said in the past, "I don’t see mantids helping out much. I’m sure they won’t hunt for them and only eat those that are out in the open. Most mantids are also diurnal, while bed bugs are typically nocturnal.” But maybe they'll find the bed bugs really, really attractive? Sadly, the praying mantis doesn't always eat their mate, so we'd probably just end up with some nightmare Praying Bed Mantis hybrid fit for its own SyFy movie.
Of course, some say this is just a grasshopper. Do those eat bed bugs?
UPDATE: The AMNH tells us, "It’s a katydid (Family: Tettigoniidae)."
