Small Predators Who Are Powerful Killers (PHOTOS)

Although we're used to seeing big predators attack smaller prey, nature features us animals that defy this convention.

From extremely venomous creatures like the blue-ringed octopus to ferocious beasts like the hyena to tiny killers like mosquitoes, these animals prove that they can take on much larger creatures, whether it's for defense or to get a feeding out of it.

Check out these relatively small animals that are a force to be reckoned with.

Praying Mantis

Aside from having the ability to camouflage, praying mantises are able to ambush their prey with their sharp, spiked forelegs. They then paralyze their captured prey chowing down the neck region first. Their prey includes other insects as well as lizards, frogs, snakes, and even hummingbirds.

comments(22)

Rate This Photo (Current Rank: loading...)

I'm not scared. That's one powerful animal!

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Now Make Your Own Top 5

And Share with Your Friends

Average rating: loading... out of 10

Current Top 5 Slides

loading...

Share Your Top 5 Slides

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

Share Your Top 5 Slides

Users Who Voted on this Slide

loading...

loading...

HuffPost Community Top 5 Slides:

«»

 | Become a fan

Share Your Top 5 Slides

 

Comments

[rkimball]

12:57 PM on 02/04/2010

in the usa, the mosquito carrying west nile virus & tse tse fly have now become our biggest concern.

[Dave Loper]

09:05 PM on 02/03/2010

That's one tough octopus

[SwingingFromCenter]

02:55 PM on 02/03/2010

Um, the blue ring octopus isn't a pred.ator. It's a very docile animal about the size of a baseball. The only time it atta.cks humans is if the person steps on it while scuba diving. Get the story straight.

[kwaut lizard]

03:10 AM on 02/05/2010

The Blue Ring Octopus is most definitely a predator, just not a predator of human beings. It captures crustaceans and fish, incapacitating them with its extremely strong toxin before devouring them. That irrefutably places it in the category of a predatory animal. You must've been sleeping in biology!

[kwaut lizard]

03:17 AM on 02/05/2010

FYI the animals listed here that do not qualify as true predators are the mosquito (despite that it is responsible for the greatest number of deaths), the Guinea Worm and the Candiru Catfish. These are all parasitic organisms, some scientists would classify the Candiru as a partial predator as it nips away gill tissue to expose veins & arteries and feeds on the resulting blood flow.

[wm1066]

01:22 PM on 02/03/2010

Its 0 degrees in Minnesota right now and I have been waging a campaign against ants in my living quarters. They're mean, small and have a bite that leaves a big welt! Ant traps are not working, anybody got any advice on how to get rid of them?

[KJLSanDiego]

01:27 PM on 02/03/2010

I've heard a salt barrier around your house works, but I'm not sure if that is workable in snow???

[wm1066]

12:07 PM on 02/05/2010

Thanks, I think that would have to be done in the summer, there is 3 feet of snow and a foot of frozen ground around my foundation right now, the ants are already inside my perimiter.

[blackheart1977]

01:07 PM on 02/03/2010

that worm photo is so nasty i couldnt even look at the screen!!!!!!!!

[vet-of4renwarz]

12:02 PM on 02/03/2010

what about the mantis shrimp...while have the killing capability of a mantis...it also generates a shockwave underwater to knock out the target... baddest in the sea imho

[kareemachan]

11:48 AM on 02/03/2010

Are Guinea worms from New Guinea? I ain't EVER going there...

[IAMGeorgeBailey]

12:45 PM on 02/03/2010

They've also been spotted on Jersey Shore.

[blackheart1977]

01:07 PM on 02/03/2010

lol

[Badwater]

10:29 AM on 02/03/2010

I was stung by a tarantula hawk, a type of spider wasp. Very scary.

[rightsaid]

10:23 AM on 02/03/2010

Box jellyfish have killed "thousands"? This researcher wants to know where they get that number from? Where are the fact checkers? This is irresponsible. A few box jellyfish species are very harmful, but the majority do not pose that kind of threat.

[LindyK]

12:02 PM on 02/03/2010

Is the box jellyfish what killed that Australian guy, the crocodile hunter?

[blackheart1977]

01:09 PM on 02/03/2010

no it was a stingray. it launches its poisonous point into his heart...you're not suppose to pull it out. but most believe he panicked, and when you pull it it causes more damage and crazy amount of bleeding... so he died quickly after. it was pretty shocking, i love him to this day!

[SwingingFromCenter]

02:57 PM on 02/03/2010

As an Australian, I can tell you unequivocably that the box jellyfish has done that. We're all taught at a very early age to not only respect but fear those things, especially large clumps of them. They don't technically "k.ill", but they cause painful cramping which usually results in the person drowning.

[NewArtz]

10:06 AM on 02/03/2010

The blue ringed octopus is the mini-me of sea serpents.

http://www.youtube.com/user/newartz#p/u/11/g2Q8npdy6DI

[Palaver]

09:56 AM on 02/03/2010

That Candiru punches below the belt... oy.

[ptobe]

08:39 AM on 02/03/2010

Ummm ... mosquitos are neither predators nor killers; the diseases they carry may kill, but they don't.

Please stop being wrong. David Attenborough is not pleased.

[InLosAngeles]

08:39 AM on 02/03/2010

It is amazing how few box jellyfish warnings are in areas where they, and oblivious tourists, cross paths. Super venemous.