Praying mantis bats away wasp trying to steal grasshopper snack from its jaws

Buzz off: Praying mantis bats away wasp trying to steal grasshopper snack from its jaws in astonishing close-up footage

  • The green creature strikes at grasshopper in a split second, trapping it by its legs
  • Clip from Germany shows predator pinning its prey and mercilessly devouring it
  • But the wasp is not giving up and the pair engage in a power struggle  

When this praying mantis had its hapless victim in its spiked grasp, it hadn’t banked on sharing it.

So when an annoying wasp tries to swipe the juicy grasshopper snack from its jaws, it was none too pleased.

Close-up footage captures the struggle between the two insects as the mantis does its best to tuck into its the snack with one front leg while batting the wasp away with the other.

The clip, filmed this summer in a garden in Eifel, west Germany, starts with the mantis rocking back and forth as it locates its prey.

The green insect, which owes its name to the way its front legs bend in a prayer position, strikes at a grasshopper in a split second, trapping it under its spiked forelegs. 

Having no chance of escaping, the grasshopper eventually becomes limp as the mantis starts to eat it alive.

But its not the only one who is hungry as a wasp buzzes in and tries to nab the snack from its jaw. 

The green creature strikes at a grasshopper in a split second, trapping itunder its spiked legs

The filmmaker said: ‘When the mantis had already eaten about half of the grasshopper, a wasp kept approaching and wanted to get their part of the meal.’

In the video, the mantis keeps chomping on the snack despite numerous attempts made by the wasp to take the meal from its grasp.

With one eye on the grasshopper and the other on the wasp, the mantis bats the wasp away several times throughout almost two minutes. 

The power struggle between the wasp and praying mantis continues for around two minutes

The power struggle between the wasp and praying mantis continues for around two minutes

At one point the mantis seemingly lets its guard down and allows the wasp to chew on his prey from the opposite side.

But no sooner has this happened, the wasp buzzes off with the snack leaving the mantis licking its wounds

And in a final insult, we see the wasp fly into shot again hovering around the mantis almost in a victorious as if to say it had won. 

The praying mantis is left without its snack as the determined wasp snatches it from its grasp and buzzes off

The praying mantis is left without its snack as the determined wasp snatches it from its grasp and buzzes off