It is said that "early birds have worms to eat", but in the magical African land, there is a ferocious insect that will eat birds in turn. There is a bird in the African savannah called the red-billed Queria finch, which is the largest bird in the world, there are 10 billion birds in the whole of Africa, usually forming a huge flock of tens of millions of birds, and there is no grass in the past, and even because the elephants disturb them to drink water, they will attack the elephants. But there is one kind of bug that treats them as delicacies.
Red-billed Quelia flocks
Armored crickets that prey on young birds
This insect is generally called armor cricket, it looks like wearing a pair of vicious armor from the outside, reflecting a metallic luster, on its armor also has spikes, and the size is huge, can grow up to 70mm, equivalent to human finger length, limbs are relatively thick, a look at it feels that it is full of aggression. However, it is not really a cricket, but it belongs to the same order as the grasshopper, and its scientific name is called the Phi Beetle Tree Ant.
But due to its huge size and heavy armor, armor crickets can't fly, which is inherently inferior to birds that can fly, and the number of tens of millions of birds, even thick armor can give you a peck through. In the face of daily disadvantages, how do they achieve the counterattack of "eating birds"?
The armored cricket, of course, did not choose to confront the red-billed Quelia finch, but chose to use tactics.
The red-billed Queria finch is large in number and swarms, and naturally not too large, only 13 cm long and weighing about 10 grams, making it one of the smallest birds in the world, and their young birds are of course even smaller.
Red-billed Queria finches
The armored crickets' gaze fell on these unresisting young birds, and when the red-billed Queria was out, the armored crickets would creep up the trees and burrow into the nest, and the rest would not need to be said.
Armored crickets that burrow into the bird's nest
But the armored crickets that enjoy the perfect meal must escape before the mother bird returns, or they will be blocked at the door of the nest. The angry mother bird will launch a fierce attack on the armor cricket, flapping its wings and emitting a harsh scream, while attacking the armor cricket with its beak madly.
Of course, the armor cricket's heavy armor is not long white, and a single red-billed Quelia finch can't break through this armor, but it won't fight back, and the armor cricket will use its bloody, terrifying, and disgusting defense method - spewing its own blood.
Blood spurt defense
Armor crickets can spray their own blood from the gaps on the back and under the legs, facing enemies in different directions, he will choose different ways of spraying blood, if the enemy comes from above, he will spray blood upwards, if from the side, he will turn sideways to spray blood, it can be seen that this blood spraying behavior is completely controlled by the armor crickets, sometimes the blood sprayed can reach 6 centimeters, in some countries some people call them "blood sprayers".
The blood of armor crickets is different from that of ordinary animals, it is actually a hemolymph with a pungent odor, but also contains toxins that may not be produced by the armor crickets themselves, but are derived from some kind of poisonous plant they eat. In addition to squirting blood, they sometimes spit out the contents of their stomachs to predators.
Their blood-spurting behavior can indeed protect themselves, once researchers put it into a cage with 4 maned lion lizards, a maned lion lizard immediately rushed up to eat it, but the armor cricket suddenly spurted blood, blood splashed on the maned lion lizard's mouth, the maned lion lizard immediately gave up predation, retreated to the side and began to clean its mouth.
Maned lion lizard
The second maned lion lizard learned its lesson and unexpectedly sneaked up from behind, being forced back in the same way by the armored crickets. The third maned lion lizard tried to approach the armored cricket, but it may have been the pungent smell of its body after two blood sprays, and the maned lion lizard simply chose to give up.
Cameroonian armored cricket is a type of armor cricket
Later, the researchers smeared the blood of the armor crickets and the contents of the armor crickets on other small crickets, and conducted similar experiments, the small crickets that had not been coated clean were all eaten by the lizards, but the small crickets that were coated with blood were not willing to touch the lizards at all, and only a few of the small crickets that were coated with contents were eaten by the lizards.
The armor cricket's blood allows most animals to stay away from them, and only some hungry animals, such as the mongoose, will choose to prey on it, but certainly not the red-billed Quelia finch.
Brutal cannibalism
The adult red-billed Queria finch is basically vegetarian, and its attacks will not cause too much damage to the armor crickets, so why should the armor cricket waste its own blood to fight back?
Although it is difficult to hurt the armor cricket, there is a way to get revenge on this "killer enemy", if the armor cricket fails to drive away the red-billed Quelia finch with blood spray, then the mother bird will continue to peck the armor cricket until it is pecked from the tree.
Just falling from a high altitude is of course to kill the undead armor crickets, but it is also enough to make it suffer a certain amount of damage, and it can't move for a short time, at this time a group of armor crickets surrounded them, they are not here to ask for warmth, but to enjoy a good meal!
Armor crickets are not only chicks that eat the red-billed Quelia finch, they also prey on various other insects, they are very fond of foods containing protein and salt, and often look for them in groups, but the closest animal to them that meets both conditions is themselves! Do they eat themselves?
Armor crickets certainly don't eat themselves, but cannibalism among their own kind is common. If the armor crickets are not injured, they can still get along. But as soon as there is an armor cricket injured and bleeding, the smell emitted is like an "invitation": I have salt and protein, come on!
The other armored crickets will soon flock to them after receiving the "invitation", and if this armor cricket cannot escape before the arrival of its kind, then it will have only one end.
Armored crickets that prey on their kind
All armor crickets are both companions and potential enemies, and each armor cricket may become a companion's meal, so armor crickets will stay away from their companions for the first time after spraying blood, and then carefully clean up the blood to ensure that there is no residue on the body before they return to the original group.
In a sense, their only natural enemy is themselves. Of course, now we must add "human", of course, humans will not eat them, and they are not used as medicinal materials, which is purely unintentional.
A cycle of tragedy begins when a large group of armored crickets encounters the path opened up by humans in the African jungle. Once some armor crickets are squashed by passing cars, the blood flowing out will soon attract a group of crickets to eat the corpses of their companions, and then they will be squashed by passing cars... Cycle back and forth until their bodies form a pancake full of spicy flavor on the side of the road.
However, armored crickets are extremely viable, able to survive in almost any environment, whether it is desert, grassland or jungle, and they are omnivorous creatures, with a huge amount of food and strong reproductive ability. The larvae feed on the underground part of the plant, while the adults feed on the stems, flowers, and leaves of the plant.
In some years, the flood of armor crickets has caused a 40% reduction in crop yields in South Africa, and there are also armor crickets in the Hulunbuir grasslands of Xinjiang, which have caused great harm to the ecological environment, and special prevention and control measures are needed to avoid their flooding.
Resources
Bloodshot Self-Defense
"The Occurrence of the Mantis Tree Ant and the Screening of Its Control Agents" Guo Xueliang