I'm just sharing this great picture that I found.
You know, there couldn't be much on other planets that looks weirder than some of the things we've got here on Earth. I don't know much about Praying Mantis's except that they're beneficial and they bite. I've been nipped a couple of times. Are there different kinds? There probably are, and this must be one of the larger ones.
I sure like the "attitude" shown in this photo.
There are indeed hundreds of species of mantids; they reach their greatest diversity in the tropics, where some truly bizarre specimens occur - see http://tinyurl.com/ch88a7 for an example.
Ozark, your mantis is the Mediterranean Mantis - Iris oratoria: http://bugguide.net/node/view/149809/bgpage
It is a terrific picture and we would be pleased if you would add it to BugFiles on this page: http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/191/
Kennedy
As Ozark said he/she found it. I received the same picture by email. That would mean - I think - that the pic could not be uploaded to BugFiles. Indeed showing it in this thread I am not sure if it is correct or not.
This is the original pic
http://pixdaus.com/index.php?&query=Dancing%20Mantis&sort=search
Regards
Carlos
Thanks Carlos, you're quite right, I didn't read the original message carefully enough/
Yes, I received the mantis picture in an email forwarded from a friend. It may be the same one carlo05 received - there were about eight "great photos", penguins, horses, etc. They were so good I saved some of them as wallpaper for my computer screen.
There was no copyright claim in the email, and I don't think there's any harm in posting the picture here in this thread. After all, millions (probably) of people have had a chance to download it from the email going around. Still, it's not my picture so I won't upload it to BugFiles. Dave's Garden is a commercial website and the picture would be posted there permanently - so that wouldn't be fair to the owner of the photo, whoever it is.
Kennedyh, it's a Mediterranean Mantis all right, but the website you referred me to has pictures of the mantis and says they were taken in Texas. In the photo I posted there are palm trees in the background and a very American-looking neighborhood. I'd guess the photo was taken in the southern U.S. somewhere and the mantis has been introduced here from Europe.
I'm glad you folks like the picture. I'm enjoying it as a computer wallpaper, and my grandkids think it's "cool".
That is a great picture i had some mantids for pets. So i yeah they nip. LOL I always fed them before i held them. That was the first insect i had ever seen that had a personality. They were pretty easy to care for. I would have another in a heartbeat.
