I got a question to ID a mantis found in South Africa.

Good day  Can you be so kind to tell me what species of mantis this is found it in my yard in Richardsbay it looks like the Indian flower mantis but this one has a different face and legs

Well it was a delight to email back what species it is, as the mantis is a very beautiful adult female Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii – Spiny Flower mantis. I wish I lived somewhere where these gorgeous insects would just show up in my yard.

With permission I am sharing the pictures that where taken before she was released back into the wild.

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You can read more about this praying mantis species here: Spiny Flower Mantis. You can notice that the eyes of this mantis are very light colored, almost white, at daytime in the bright light, but turn purple in less bright conditions.

I got a question this week about a mantis that was found in Croatia.

“I was on your site and I came across this mantis but I couldn’t find the name of it! I saved your photo (below) and below that is what I think is the same kind of mantis I found yesterday (in a Croatia) just wondering if you can tell me the name of it 🙂 thank you !!”

The mantis she was referring to is Empusa pennata. The one she found was a subadult female. Here are the pictures of this gorgeous mantis.

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Pictures published with permission.
Below are some other pictures of the same species.

I stumbled upon this video about bees. It looks a big sensational, about the end of the world, but it turned out to be actually very nice. It answers the question about what would happen if all the pollinating insects died. Not just bees but all kinds of species.

Honeybees are domestic animals, they do not occur in the wild anymore. I think there is a lot of interest about the honeybee, while actually people can manage them quite well. They are domestic and all of them are kept by a bee keeper. The other insects and the wild bees are more interesting in my option. Many other species of bees, solitary bees, humblebees and other pollinators that will pollinate our food plants.