Essay On Green Praying Mantis

INTRODUCTION

How will this research benefit society?

This research will benefit South Africa and the other African countries in getting rid of the Army worm, which is a threat to the country’s food supply. The Army worms are parasites that have been consuming the vegetation of South African farmlands. With the introduction of the Green Mantis, the country’s food security is ensured because the Praying Mantis will not consume the crops, only the Army worms; because the Green Praying Mantis is a carnivore. The introduction of the Praying Mantis is the perfect solution to eliminating the Army worms, rather than using pesticides that could cause harmful effects on water bodies when the chemicals wash off, and also the people that consume those crops. Figure 1 Army worm destroying crops.

Background

Figure 2 Rainy season in South Africa.

RESULTS.

Ethics of research

To ensure the research is ethical, a practical experiment was not performed. The initial thought of conducting the research was to capture two common green mantids and put them in separate environments: one in ‘rainy conditions’ where the container would be sprayed three times a day, and the other container simply kept dry so as to imitate ‘dry conditions’ of South Africa.

The South African climate conditions

The South African climate is desert to semi-desert in the northern regions of the country, and is subtropical in the western regions. The Army worms have affected areas like Limpopo, North West and the Free State where crops such as maize and wheat grow. The rainfall seasons of South Africa come during the summer, from November to March on an average basis, annually. The dry seasons of South Africa occur from May to October, where there is little or no rainfall in the country

Figure 3 There is less rainfall, more especially during the winter season.