A tiny mantis

Like yesterdays beetle, I only got one shot of this mantis too but at least it was a better shot. This one is so small that I thought it as a medium size ant at first. I have never seen such colors in a mantis before and think it might be one of the Flower Mantid species. I wish I could have caught him and brought him home to see what he would turn into but he was too fast for me and it was in very thick bush.

Sibyllid Mantis (Sibylla pretiosa) Family Sibyllidae

Before you look at the other pictures, see if you can find him in the first one. The perfect disguise was some leaves caught in a spiderweb in which it was hiding itself waiting for some unsuspecting prey to come along.

Note the thorn-like nobs on the back and joints which disguise him further by breaking up the shape of his legs.