He was looking for a place to hide in order to moult.......
and soon found one anongst the leaves of a shrub.
I have put in black arrows in the picture above to show you the skin he left behind.
He blended in very well with the shadows and look like of spiffy in this new skin. :)
40 comments:
That baby mantis is small! and almost transparent, like a foetus...
I saw the koeksisters on your recipe blog - an interesting recipe - sounds sweet because of the syrup. Did you mean: mix all the ingredients with the syrup and bring them together to a boil? thanaks for alerting me to that recipe:)
Hello Jeannette. I could kick myself!! I was going to load the photo for you last night and then got busy with something else and did not get back to it. SO SORRY!! I will load it when I get home - about 6 hours time so it wil be there when you wake up.
Yes, you take all the syrup ingredients and boil it together. This can be extremely sweet but what I do it not soak the cooked dough too long in it. That way it does not soak in as much so although sweet, not overly so.
I found out that that and the milk tart are NOT typical Dutch recipes as I have always though, but SA.
That little mantis was really cute but he does not stay that way long and then turns green.
Joan: What a neat find. I had never seen a mantis skin before. Do ants eat the skin?
Zapracowany na działce nie mam nawet czasu odwiedzać zaprzyjaźnione blogi , świetne zdjęcia i niesamowite robale , pozdrawiam ciepło , Andrzej :)
Hello Tom. It was amazing. I missed him actually coming out of it as it happend durning the night. I have seen ants eating all these shins the other insects leave behind.
Cześć Andrzej. I zostały zastanawiasz co się happenend ci. Tej porze roku może być bardzo zajęty, gdy istnieje do sadzenia. To niesamowite, jak szybko rosną zbyt na chwasty. :) Czy nie działa zbyt mocno moim przyjacielem.
Such a cute little thing! Love the shots of it hanging and shedding. YOu do find the neatest bugs and follow them so well.
Thats why they call me Bug Lady. :) Thanks Mary, it is always nice to find something like this which I can show you.
I really loved your bugs today. Wow!! What a great selection. That is really a neat place to go to.
Well Joan I love this series and the PM bug. But I have to say I was a little troubled when scanning the comment section that you actually boil these poor baby bugs in syrup!
That's just wrong!
Perhaps I misunderstood...
Craig
Craig you clown!! I am sitting here having a good laugh as usual!! You don't miss a trick do you? Poor M. She has my deepest sympathy. It must be hell living with you!! LOL!! LOL!!
Don't you know that boiling things, especially in syryp, accounts for the tranlucency? So no, you did not misunderstand!! LOL!!
No wait, just now someone reading this thinks I am serious.... just kidding about the boiling!!
Wow, it's such a cute insect~! It looks exactly like a dried leaf. How did you get it to stand still on your hand? Oh yes, I forgot - this mantis must be another of your clay models LOL~! :O)
Sreddy
Interesting observation. That mantis looks overjoyed to be out of the old skin. :)
Hello Sreddy. Anothr weekend is here. Time goes so quickly.
I am always amazed at how well these things are disguised.
Now don't you start with the clay models like Craig. I have enough problems with him. LOL!! LOL!!
Hello Diane. Whenever I see one about to shed, even snakes, I want to help it out. They really do need hands. :) I can imagine what it must feel like to be rid of that old one. Something I think we should be able to do it also. :)
Don't worry shredy, this one is real or else there would be no point in BOILING them!
Craig
Cool. He looks like he's ready for action.
Another amazing cycle of the natural life. It might be good if we could shed our skins like that all at once instead of a few flecks at a time. It really is quite small but I guess it will grow. I sure do enjoy your view of the little things in nature so many of us miss.
Guess I need to check out your recipe blog. Or maybe I'll just wait for the real thing. No boiled bugs please. LOL! ;-)
Sigh...it's back to school on Monday~! But I'm actually quite looking forward to be busy again. Being idle is terrible.
Hmmm...I wonder what clay tastes like, Craig - maybe Ms. Joan finds it delicious~! LOL LOL just joking~! :O)
Oh my gosh...did you stand here and wait.? How long did it take? Amazing. I have another insect I captured and did not identify correctly, but did get the right ID. I haven't posted it yet...Michelle
I think I saw his big brothers in the movie War Of The Worlds,
Craig. Stop being such a bad influence. :) LOL!!
Thanks Steve. :)
Thanks Gaelyn. It is nice to know people also take an interest in these small critters.
LOL!! No telling what you may get to eat here Gaelyn. I remember how many people are horrified when I offer them Monkeygland Sauce. LOL!! It turns out it has nothing to do with monkeys and is similar to a BBQ sauce. Very tasty. :)
Somethine these long holidays can be boring Sreddy.
Boiled clay?? Yuck!! LOL!!
Hello Michelle. No, I missed it. It got too dark and I had to come back VERY early the next morning and found it sitting next to it.
LOL!! A good one TB. :)
I have never seen the skin. Fantastic!
Today I've posted something that you may find familiar :-)))
Humm, interesting...
Is my bad influence what's really bothering you or...
is it that more and more people are coming over to the DARK SIDE!!!
bwaahhhh haaahaaaaaa
Craig
Joan thanks so much for posting the koeksisters pic! They look lovely.
Craig cannot read the following part! So, close your eyes -no peeking either!
Sorry you got so much static about the boiling part - but you defended yourself terrificly!I know that's not a word...) Talking about delectable critters. I heard several times about the big ants in Africa being eaten as a delicacy - but I want to know it from someone who lives there! You probably have tried them - are they good to eat?
Hello Jose. LOVE the pictures of Stellenbosch. :) It is definitely one of our most beautiful areas. Thanks for posting them.
I was very lucky to get these photographs as it is not often one gets to find something like this.
LOL!! You are so funny Craig. :)
The dark side? You mean Alaska in winter? LOL!! I think you watch too many sci-fi movies. :)
Hello Jeannette. You know Craig by now, he always gets things backwards for some reason. LOL!!
"Terrifically' is a word. :)Thanks, I have my defenses built up by now and am going to make sure Craig does not get the better of me. (Actually between you and I, I really have a lot of fun with his remarks, he is so funny, but if I tell him that, he is going to be more outrageous than he already is, so dont mention this to him please.) :)
Great question Jeannette.In Africa, there is not much which is NOT eaten. Ants, grasshoppers, caterpillars etc are all considered staple foods in many areas. Food has always been a problem because of the scarcity of water so people eat what they can to stay alive.
I myself have not tried any of it but my father was one of those who would try everything. I know he ate mice, snakes etc too. YUCK!! I would rather eat leaves and grass!!
We have a joke here which, if you asked what these things tasted like, they will say 'peanuts'. :) In the USA I think they prefer to say 'chicken'. LOL!!
Cool, cool pictures Joan. What a terrific find. How long did all this take? I've never seen a brown Mantis.
B.
Hello Becky. I have seen them in bothe colors here when they are still young.
He is very small and pale, maybe he will grow into his green coat. We do have brown and white as well as green ones out here.
Hello Glennis. By the time I saw him the next day, he was already greener than the previous one so it probably has to do with him moulting. :) Thanks for the info on yours too. I am always interested in what is found in other countries.
I always thought Mantis' were the cool bugs of the bug world. I didn't know they shed their skin though. It's amazing the skin stays in tact like it does. The Mantis must be exhausted afterwards.
Sharon
Hello Sharon. By the looks of it, it seems like an easy process. The skin bursts open and they just sort of climb out. :)
I wonder what it feels like to know you are about to burst through your skin and need to find a safe place for this to happen? Thanks for the great photos, Joan.
Hello Marvin. That is a great question. I think that at that stage you cannot wait for it to happen as you have grown a bit larger than it. Also I wonder if it itches? :) Thanks.
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