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| Male mantis consuming a moth. |
Range: New Jersey south to Florida; west to Utah, Arizona, Texas, and through Mexico to Central America.
Season: Mantids are most commonly seen in late summer and early fall. Most are killed by cold weather in the fall, but can live longer in warmer climates in the southern US.
Food: Butterflies, moths, flies, small wasps and bees, true bugs and caterpillars -- most anything they can catch and consume.
Life Cycle: Eggs overwinter and hatch in early spring. Adults are mature by late summer and usually die by winter.
Remarks: Carolina Mantids are native to North America. They are smaller than their imported Asian cousins. Males have fully developed wings and can fly. Females do not.
Source: BugGuide
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6 comments:
Welcome back to the blogosphere, its nice to have you posting again. The mantis picture is great. They are so hard to bring into focus.
Excellent capture! Eating a moth. That explains why I last spotted a mantis one night on the ceiling of the little porch over the front steps! It was hunting! ~karen
Thanks, Shelly. Getting back into the blogosphere (both reading and posting) is one of my New Year's Resolution for 2011, and I'm just jumping the gun a little. I hope this resolution works out better than most of those I make.
Yes, Karen, this particular mantis was also on the porch ceiling above the outdoor light. By August, our male mantids are hunting almost all the time, either for food or females. They often discover the porch light area is a bountiful food court.
Now that's a very cool photo!
Happy new year, marvin!
Thanks, Wren. Happy 2011 to you too.
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