Family Mantidae Giant Mantis (
Sphodromantis gastrica)
We have many kind of mantis here and this is a baby of the Giant Mantis which gets to be about 5 inches in body length. The tail end eventually straightens out when it gets its first wings. It is a very common species and feeds mainly off caterpillars.
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All mantids have large heads and compound eyes.
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The female lays her eggs in cocoons like this which is mainly attached to branches. The cocoon is about 1 inch in length but there are hundreds of eggs in them.
4 comments:
Discovered about 20 babies on the curtain in Drama Princess' bedroom the other day. Caught them in a container and set them free in the garden. Don't know if they would make it, but she didn't want them in her bedroom. Found the cocoon behind the curtain a few days later.
A pity she does not like them as mantis and gecko's are good to have indoors as they eat the bugs. :)
Très joli post! superbe balade!
je te rends visite de mon blog peinture! je suis ravie de découvrir ton blog, j'adore.
Cath CH Photography.
Had a mantis on an indoor potted tree which ate bugs and was fun to watch.
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