Mantis Sunbathing……….

I love praying mantises! I used to study them intricantly when there were lots of gardens and mantis havens around. Then one winter a raccoon ate 25 casings I had hanging by yarn from a high deck. I don’t seen nearly as many now. I would mark them when they reached 3rd instar and I couuld tell males from females by their abdomen size and size in general. I learned to never mark them on their thorax with the craft paint I used because they could not release their exoskelteton to move to their next stage. I learned that thier “ear” is on their abdomen, that they can echo-locate-to be aware of bats hunting them with the same tool. I would watch a female lay a “casing” of eggs, observe them hatching and just by knowing that they will stay in an area with adequate food, I could pretty well follow several generations. I learned, that the “female mantis eat their mates is an old wives tale, just as it is with black widow spiders. Only very hungry females eat males who don’t “dismount”properly. I have seen up to three mantises trying to mate with one female. My markered mantises taught me that the saame male could be seen mating with various females. They are the only insect that can turn its head. Mantises are fascinating insects, so easy to imagine as human like when they turn their heads to look at you. The hatchlings will be carnivorous if other mantises are the only prey around. It is hard to watch them consume butterflies, locust as they scream etc. but if you want to learn about something, you must see it as it really is. Brown mantises are usually smaller and less common where I live in North Carolina. The larger “Chinese Mantis” has about eliminated the smaller Carolina Mantis. The carolina mantis lays her egg case in a row on a branch where a Chinese mantis makes a roundish case on a plant whose stem survives the winter, like a hneysuckle or goldenrod. Thanks for the beautiful photos, it brought back memories of me teaching my kids about these marvelous creatures. beebeesworld

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