odd prey for the praying mantis

Sphodromantis viridis impales a
 hummingbird through the
chest with its spiny forelegs

I've just recently seen an episode of Animal Planet's new series Predation, and learned quite a few things that really surprised me.This episode was on the praying mantis. I was surprised because I'd always thought these skinny insects preyed exclusively on other insects.

Apparently, I was wrong. These voracious alien-looking bugs take on small birds, snakes, and even tiny mammals! It was certainly an unusual sight for me to watch an insect overpower and devour these vertebrates. I suppose protein is protein wherever it comes from...And it's all part of the whole eternal cycle of eating and being eaten.

I searched for a number of videos on youtube about this and realized that this feeding behavior isn't new. Nevertheless, we still understand very little about these bizarre bugs.

Here: