1Mantids will eat anything that moves...
2including other mantids.
3Time to leave.
4This tiny insect is now open to attack from predators, lurking in the undergrowth.
5Whether an individual mantis survives or not is partly a matter of chance...
6whether it's spotted by a predator...
7whether it turns right... or left...
8So far, its luck has held.
9But this hungry jumping spider is still in pursuit.
10A mantis is born with exceptional eyesight.
11But the spider's is even better.
12Although this young mantis can't yet fly,
13its long forelegs, evolved to catch prey, give it reach.
14...
15There seems to be no escape.
16...
17But this mantis has a surprising line in self-defence.
18Kung fu, praying mantis style.
19...
20Of course, it's all bluff...
21trying to look bigger and confuse its enemy.
22But it's got away with it.
23Just staying alive for its first few hours is a significant accomplishment for a newly-hatched insect.
24But there's still a long way to go.
25With a bit of luck, in two months' time, it will be as big and beautiful as this orchid mantid.
26...
27Or maybe not.
28After all, mantids are cannibals.