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Within their micro-world, they are fierce predators, hunting down any creature they can grasp, from mosquitoes to cicadas.
在螳螂存在的微观世界里，它们是凶猛的捕食者，猎杀它们能抓住的任何生物，例如蚊子和蝉。
And even, though rarely, vertebrates, such as frogs and birds.
它们猎杀的对象甚至包括少量脊椎动物，如青蛙和鸟类。
They can eat anything, from soft and yummy flies to armor-plated beetles.
它们什么都吃，从柔软美味的苍蝇到披着盔甲的甲虫。
They can even eat and process poisonous caterpillars without harming themselves.
它们甚至可以食用和消化有毒的毛虫，而不会中毒。
And last year, we just published the first ever account of a praying mantis feeding on plant sap.
去年，我们刚刚发表了有史以来第一篇关于螳螂以植物汁液为食的报道。
A vegetarian mantis?
素食主义螳螂？
Well, when walking this alien world, questions arise more often than answers.
当行走在这个陌生的世界时，问题往往比答案多。
Speaking of poison, they have none in their bodies.
说到毒，螳螂的体内没有毒。
So they rely on the physical strength of their spiky legs, called raptorials, and their swift moves to catch their prey.
因此，它们依靠尖尖的腿的力量，也就是所谓的捕食足，以及它们的快速移动来捕捉猎物。
Their vision is highly accurate, precisely detecting depth through a unique 3D vision system in the animal kingdom, which reacts to movement.
它们的视觉非常敏锐，通过动物界独特的3D视觉系统精确探测，对猎物的运动做出反应。
Their eyes synch or adapt to the light, changing color between day and night.
它们的眼睛能够适应光线，在白天和黑夜之间改变颜色。
But we're still unsure how good their night vision is, despite seeing them actively roam around in darkness.
我们看到螳螂能够在黑暗中自在地漫步，但仍然不确定它们的夜视能力究竟有多强。
Most of them are masters of camouflage, an ancient art meaningful on the native habitats.
大多数螳螂都是伪装大师，这是一种有意义的，在本土栖息地上得到展现的古老艺术。
This colorful male vanishes on the grassy fields where he lives.
这只多彩的雄性螳螂消失在它生活的草地上。
Can you spot a praying mantis on these pictures?
你能在这些照片中找到有螳螂的那张吗？
Yes?
能吗?
No?
不能？
Well, actually, these photos are exclusively of praying mantises.
实际上，这些照片都是螳螂。
The first looks like a dry leaf, the second like a stick, and the third like lichen.
第一只看起来像一片干燥的叶子，第二只看起来像一根棍子，第三只看起来像地衣。
Their shapes range from fresh green leaves, mosses, branches, to everything in between.
它们的形状可以是新鲜的绿叶、苔藓、树枝，以及之间一切事物。
We are blown away by how evolution led these incredible predators to blend into the natural environment.
这些令人难以置信的捕食者已经进化到能够完全融入自然环境，这让我们感到无比震惊。
And if they feel threatened, they can play dead.
如果螳螂觉得受到威胁，它们可以装死。
Or display colors like a peacock all within an extremely light body.
或者像孔雀一样，展示它们极其轻盈的身体内的色彩。
Large males like this, eight centimeters long, can weigh just one gram.
像这样大的雄性螳螂，8厘米长，只有1克重。
Others are even smaller.
其它的甚至更小。
The more permanent changes they go through are just as awesome.
它们经历的更持久的变化也同样令人敬畏。
Like other insects, they grow through molts, changing their skin.
像其它昆虫一样，它们通过蜕皮生长，更新自己的皮肤。
And when adults, developing wings, depending on their species.
长成成虫之后，根据物种不同，有些螳螂会发育出翅膀。
Since the very beginning of "Projecto Mantis" six years ago, we've taken care of every mantis we've collected for research.
从六年前的“螳螂计划”开始，我们照顾着收集到的每一只用于研究的螳螂。
They live in our homes with us.
它们和我们一起住在家里。
Our family and friends think of them as pets.
我们的家人和朋友把它们当作宠物。
This unusual, no-kill protocol, allows us to understand about their life cycles, behavior, and, perhaps more importantly, to connect them to people around us.
这种不同寻常的、不杀生的协议，让我们能够了解螳螂的生命周期、行为，也许更重要的是，它们与我们周围的人产生了联系。
Back home, there are over 40 mantises waiting for us, and some will live for over two years.
在家中，有40多只螳螂在等着我们，有些还能活两年以上。
This year we just discovered a new species.
今年，我们发现了一个螳螂的新物种。
This tiny green mantis has a translucent body and intrigues us because it was found only through our non-lethal lights trap which attract winged males.
这种微小的绿色螳螂有着半透明的身体，我们之所以对它感兴趣，是因为只有吸引有翼雄性螳螂的非致命性灯光陷阱才能捉住它。
We believe it lives high up in the canopy, out of our sight.
我们认为它生活在高高的树冠上，不在我们的视线范围内。
And despite the advances of technology allowing humanity to explore the deep sea, the outer space, the metaverse now, we still lack efficient tools to research and survey the highest parts of Amazonia, which is exactly where scientists expect to find the greatest biodiversity in the rainforests.
尽管技术的进步使人类能够探索深海、外层空间和虚拟世界，但我们仍然缺乏有效的工具来研究和勘测亚马逊山脉的最高处，热带雨林中科学家们希望发现最大生物多样性的地方。
On our last expedition, we tried night drone flights, without success.
在最近一次探险中，我们尝试了夜间无人机飞行，但没有成功。
The creative uses of technology are part of our contemporary science, and we keep chasing ideas that could lead us to explore the unreachable treetops and understand more and more about mantises in the wild.
科技的创造性应用是当代科学的一部分，我们不断寻求可以带领我们探索高处的树梢，并深入了解野生螳螂的新想法。
