Praying Mantis (pic intensive)

[Bobobird]

Found her out in the open taking a suntan. Walking around with not a worry in the world, changing pose every now and then and taking a real liking to my bag. When the modelling session ended she got onto a leaf I had put in her path and lifted her back into the bushes (birds had finished their afternoon siesta and were getting active). Walked onto the bush, raised her front legs as if saying bye and we went our separate ways.

As always all comment and critique very much appreciated. Pics have been darkened a bit to pop the green.

Thanks for looking. Hope you like them. It was an interesting and exciting encounter.

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[Viana]

Great captures!

BTW—"him" is a "her."

[Dizzy]

Outstanding series Bobo. That gal had some real character..did you see how she was
giving you the eye?

Mike

[Bobobird]

Thanks Viana - yes a "her". Have changed all "him" references.

Thanks Mike - she is a professional model so eying everything is part of the routine.

[Bobobird]

Hi everyone.

Was reviewing the pics just now to see which should be posted in the insect thread. Obviously not all of them are good so have pruned to what I think are the better ones.

[Viana]

Thanks Viana - yes a "her". Have changed all "him" references.


Thanks Mike - she is a professional model so eying everything is part of the routine.

You are welcome, Bobo.


I remember one of those gorgeous “models” posing in the garden years ago. No matter which way I turned her heart-shaped head would move to gaze at me and the camera; definitely a sentient being.


I have a few of their hatched egg cases (ootheca) in my dried plant/prop collection.


Thus far, in this garden, I have only seen nymphs. They like to get on the window screens. Perhaps next year there will be adults for photo-captures.

[Bobobird]

Excellent background Viana.

The thing I like about them is their confidence and lack of fear. Also unlike most insects they will interact with you. Move too close and they will shoot out the claws, give them a leaf and they will climb on, shake a leaf in front of them and they will attack it. Best is put your hand close and they will climb on. Great interaction.

But out in the open they are almost impossible to detect. The only other time I have seen one was decades ago on a hike. Have never seen a male. Probably one reason why really nice in-the-wild pics are so hard to find over the web. Have checked both Flickr and Picasa and nadda. Was hoping to see the pp and mimic the better ones.

Have also been reading up about them. Is it correct they breed in the autumn and the eggs go into the sacs you descibed? So the best time to find the egg sacs would be during winters and return in spring to see them in greater numbers?

[Viana]

The males are difficult to spot. They are long, thin and stick like. In temperate climates breeding begins in Autumn.


The styrofoam like egg cases are different shapes depending on the species: http://tinyurl.com/6w2w9mp


In N. America I have found them attached to branches. They are easily seen when the plants are bare. I only remove them once the babies have hatched. You can tell from the tiny little escape holes that they bore to get out of the case. It is doubtful that you would see many tiny mantis’ since they hide. The easiest to spot are the females because of their large, segmented abdomens.


If one has an organic garden free of pesticides the mantis usually appears. This can take up to 5 years. BTW—while people consider the mantis “good” insects, they will prey upon almost anything, including their own species.


Here are a ton of photos of the mantis from all over the world: http://tinyurl.com/6swmohv


There are even videos on YouTube of them mating. Grim, from an anthropomorphic point of view, since the female typically bites the head off the male and post-coitus devours him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYp_Xi4AtAQ


Whenever you are looking for a pix of something just google the word plus image: “praying mantis”+image


That also works if you want to see if anyone has ripped off one of your named photos.

[arith]

Inspector Costou, or whatever his name is; was here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Clouseau

[Bobobird]

Thanks for the image link. The ones showing the spread wings are awesome.