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This close-up video of a praying mantis eating a fly is pure insect horror [1]

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Date: 2025-08-14

This short timelapse of a praying mantis eating a fly is like a horror film directed by nature. From afar, watching a praying mantis catch a small bug isn't something most would bat an eye over. Up close, like in this video, it's a grisly, horrifying scene.

This film makes the praying mantis look like a giant, bloodthirsty alien-monster. This video is disgusting yet captivating. Near the end of the video, the mantis looks at the camera in a ferocious way, as if telling the camera-person "you're next!"

Although harmless to humans, praying mantises are not who you'd want to hang out with if you're a fly-sized creature. Now, I'm wondering how other kinds of seemingly benign insect activities would look up-close like this. I enjoyed watching this riveting film, but now, it's time for me to eat lunch and try to put this video out of my head.

See also: The Bisbee fly-catching contest of 1912

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