Praying mantis eating a wasp
Yesterday, I posted about the dangers geckos pose to a praying mantis that has been living on a spider lily.
Today’s post is about the advantage of that location for the mantis. The primary benefit is that the spider lily’s flowers attract wasps, bees and other insects. In these photos, the mantis has caught a good-sized paper wasp, securely held by its forelegs. It held the wasp in that position for a while, but once it began its meal, it made short work of devouring the wasp. Next day I saw it with a bee and a beetle.
As the spider lily flowers fade, new ones pop up on other stalks, so the insect attraction has been fairly continuous.
I keep finding praying mantises (or praying mantes-I looked it up!) around our area! They are absolutely fascinating! And wow, your photos are fantastic! ❤
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Thanks for the kind words. Praying mantises (mantes) are a favorite of mine, so interesting in their behavior. I’m always on the lookout for them.
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This is an extremely cool post. I just recently had an up close and personal experience with a pregnant praying mantis. https://noelliesplace.com/2019/09/18/pregnant-praying-mantis/
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Amazing shots, Graham. Who’s stalking who I wonder? 🙂
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Indeed. I try not to be too intrusive.
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I saw this after my last comment, lol! I felt like a stalker when my husband and I took pics of the coqui frog at our B&B back in March. The little guy didn’t seem to be fazed.
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Well, I think it’s easy and necessary to be a bit of a stalker when taking photos. Otherwise you’re likely to miss the shot you want.
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Oh, my! What fantastic captures. Nicely done. 😊
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Thanks. I’ve still to see and capture the strike of the mantis. I’ll keep looking though.
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I am sure you will capture the strike eventually and when you do, it will be amazing! 😉
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I hope so.
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