Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina)


Mothing Mantis

Some photograph moths; others eat them.

A male Carolina Mantis  (Stagmomantis carolina), a native species found throughout most of North and Central America.  Many consider mantids beneficial insects, though they're really indiscriminate predators and will eat just about anything they can catch.
(BugGuide Species Page)




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6 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

For goodness sakes, what a great find. That mantis has a yummy dinner.

KaHolly said...

They look so intelligent, and like they are from outer space! Did I read recently that they will even eat a hummingbird? ~karen

Marvin said...

Lisa: This has been a very good year for Carolina Mantids around our place. Of course, I see a lot more males than females since the males can fly much better than the females, and as with many insects, it's the males' job to find the female.

Karen: Mantids can, indeed, capture hummingbirds, but those are the large, imported Chinese mantids. A quick Google search of "hummingbird + mantis" will find several photos. These Carolina mantids are too small to posed a threat to the hummers.

Lana Gramlich said...

Wow! GREAT capture!

Kelly said...

Wow! That's a cool shot (I like your caption too). It almost looks like she's slipping off to bed with her favorite furry "teddy bear!"

sebi_2569 said...

superb; bravo