Mantis appreciation post

[susanne-kasimir]

My favourite (of here) is the Mediterranean conehead mantis, Empusa pennata

the nymphs are just tiny jumping twigs

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/298564320

[tjeales]

I have a few I have seen that I really like.

Odontomantis sp. Asian Ant Mantises, Brunei.

Sibylla pretiosa, Cryptic Mantis, Botswana.

Kongobatha diademata, Snake Mantis, Australia.

Metoxypilus lobifrons, Australia.

[ra_teo]

WOW! The coolest!

[priyanjanap]

Love this thread! My coolest and most random mantis sighting was this unicorn boxer mantis outside my uni canteen. Never seen one before or since.

Indian Unicorn Boxer Mantis (Hestiasula brunneriana) from Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Kodigehalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560065, India on February 24, 2021 at 04:20 AM by Priyanjana Pramanik · iNaturalist

[aditya_puthenpura]

woooow I love these!!

[aditya_puthenpura]

Odontomantis nymphs are very fascinating to me :0

cryptic mantis is so cool!!

:0 we have a similar mantis here called eomantis

super cool pics !!

[aditya_puthenpura]

welcome to the forum! and im glad you love this thread :D

I love the little dance these unicorn boxer mantises do, they look adorable XP

[Ajott]

Mantises are amazing!

my two favorite observations are the following

I found a mating pair on the side of a road in Ecuador, which was pretty neat https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/37754868

but my absolute highlight so far way this tiny ground mantis in Namibia, I did not expect there

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/37920860

[aditya_puthenpura]

wooaaaaaahh the size disparity is insane! and thats a super cool species!

:0 how small are these guys and damn they seem like a nightmare to photograph

super cool finds

[broacher]

Gorgeous stuff! And I was so surprised (although, with mantids, that’s not really uncommon, right?) to see the ant mimic. Beautiful bugging!

[aditya_puthenpura]

theres a genus of mantises called hapalopeza that sort of look like red ants (?) only the nymphs tho but it may also be mimicking some wasp, but odontomantis sp are dedicated ant mimics during early instars

[bartwursten]

I love mantids. They’re one of my personal “small five”. In Africa I have seen some pretty ourageously weird and wonderful ones like Hemiempusa capensis, Sibylla pretiosa or Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi.

[aditya_puthenpura]

so beautiful!!! I wish I could see these myself

[oksanaetal]

@bartwursten

They’re one of my personal “small five”.

What are the other 4?

[tjeales]

Rhombodera sp. giving me the eye.

https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/51338136

[bartwursten]

Pangolins, chameleons, jumping spiders and gastropods in general but if I have to choose an absolute favorite it would probably be Thatcheria-mirabilis

[bartwursten]

….and to think I see most of them by accident when I am actually looking for plants

[aditya_puthenpura]

hehe lucky!

[broacher]

Mantids are so photogenic – and photographic!

Like this one that grabbed my phone, and took a selfie.

[aditya_puthenpura]

a phenomenal selfie!

is this tenodera sp?