Mantis Update - Turns out he's a SHE!!! by cherokee69
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Description
After spending several weeks in my greenhouse after it got cold around here, I made an interesting discovery tonight. He turned out to be a SHE!!! I just had to get some photos of her laying eggs and had to find out more about it.
"The female will lay groups of 12-400 eggs in a frothy liquid that turns to a hard protective shell. This is how these insects survive the winter. Small mantids emerge from this case in the spring. Often, the first meal is a sibling. It takes an entire summer or growing season for mantids to mature to adulthood.
Keep in mind that mantid egg cases collected in the fall and kept indoors will hatch during the winter months whether you are prepared for them or not. From a single ootheca, several dozen to hundreds of nymphs can emerge."
...from the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology
This is the same mantis from my previous posts,
"Mantis" and "Spot Cleaning"
Thanks for all your wonderful comments
on my last upload,
"You can't see me..can you?"
Many thanks,
Cherokee
Comments (18)
Galaxi
That is so cool. I've never seen one laying eggs before.
cherokee69
I haven't either. I wanted to get that one leaf out of the way but, the egg case was attached to it also. This was taken in the greenhouse at night with only a 60 watt incandescent light bulb for lighting.
Riverhu
Fantastic photo :)
unstrung65
...these bugs scare me ! -- maybe it was that giant Preying Mantis movie in the 50's I saw - that attacked New York ( or was it Cleveland?) and laid eggs too ( or was that those giant ants in "THEM" ?? ) --- anyway I quite like your photo -- almost abstract.
dadamson
Wow... and to think you will see be a dad for 200+!! They eat their siblings? Do they learn that from the mom, and their late dad? Excellent shot!
AgentMai
What an amazing capture, and discovery lol!! I'm also scared of these bugs, but seeing this excellent macro has made me appreciate them a little more! I love your compo, beautifully done =)
Mikan
congrats for this capture :)...
nongo
What a froth she has going!!! I always wondered what a sibling would taste like for the first meal, LOL Great shot and info!!!!!!
GiveMe
Excellent photo. TKs :^)
Apophis906
Oh you lucky you,thats some catch. Oh yeah, thats a female,lol. Excellent capture and job here.
Chimeric_Imager
excellent macro and great photo
Vraxor
Wonderful capture and beautiful colors! Excellent!
chantal-france
WOnderful macro of this killer :)) And happy to see she will have a lot of killer-children very soon :)) Excellent!!
Enmos
Awesome capture !! Really stunning photography here my friend !! v
jcv2
Beautiful capture of this remarkable creature!
WandM
Such a wonderful find! Great shot too.
b2amphot
Now that is patience... like an expectant father keeping watch over your mantis. The question is will you allow the eggs to hatch??? Great shot of course.
deemarie
The composition and lighting is just pure perfection :)