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“…But aside from the remarkable discovery itself, what may be even more unsettling is a part we humans have unwittingly played. Of the 147 documented cases, more than 70 percent occurred in the U.S., where praying mantises grab hummingbirds from feeders and as they’re flitting about on garden flowers. (Most of the avian victims are hummingbirds, with an especial preference for ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).)
As it turns out, decades ago alien species of mantises like the European mantis (Mantis religiosa) and the Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) became popular for biological pest control. In theory, hiring insects to eat the pests is a great idea – in practice, when non-native insects are introduced, all heck can break loose. These imported mantis species “now constitute a new potential threat to hummingbirds and small passerine birds,” say the authors, who conclude: “Our compilation suggests that praying mantises frequently prey on hummingbirds in gardens in North America; therefore, we suggest caution in use of large-sized mantids, particularly non-native mantids, in gardens for insect pest control.”
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