I left the photos rather large, so they're worth a click. Enjoy!
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Praying Mantis
We rarely see these in San Diego, although I'm told, from online references, that there are plenty of them about. This chap was clinging to our front yard fence, patiently waiting for dinner. I tried my hand at identification and I'm thinking it's a mantis religiosa or European Mantis. I suspect that it's a male as the abdomen is slender, suggesting that it's not carrying eggs.
I left the photos rather large, so they're worth a click. Enjoy!
I left the photos rather large, so they're worth a click. Enjoy!
Nice! I'm not so sure it is a European Mantis, though. I think the wings are too short, and I can't find pictures of European Mantises that are that odd shade of gray. How big is it? The "ground mantises" in the genus Litaneutria look about the right color and shape, but they are only about an inch and a half long. Another likely possibility is the California Mantis, Stagmomantis californica, in which case you probably have a female (the females have shorter wings, and can live into December, while the males tend to die earlier).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tim. This one was about 3-4" long. Wife kitteh told me she had seen a really big one on our orange tree earlier in the week. I wondered about the wings. Looking at the pictures, I'm inclined to go with the Ground Mantis.
ReplyDeleteWhich, by the way, is on sale at the local Vons for only $14.99 a pound!
ba-da-bump!
I remember the first mantis I ever found-- FOD walkdown on the flight line, I found one in a tie-down sink. Picked her up--hey, wouldn't be MUCH damage, but might be some-- showed her to the person next to me.
ReplyDeleteThen I found out most girls are terrified of these beautiful bugs.....