Ghost mantis development in pictures

I’m happy to show you some new pictures I received from Jarno Akkersdijk. He made some stunning pictures of his Ghost mantids and shared them at his website http://ghostmantisnl.wixsite.com/home

I got permission to share them with you too. The pictures are great because they show the growth and development of a mantis in a clear way. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Ghost mantis development and growth

Ghost mantis female development and growth

Every time the mantis changed her skin, Jarno photographed her with a one euro coin for scale. At the last picture the mantis is adult and will not grow more.

A ghost mantis with an empty stomach and the same one just after eating a large meal.

A ghost mantis with an empty stomach and the same one just after eating a large meal.

You can clearly see how much food and fat a mantis has in its body. A mantis will store all of this in it abdomen. That is the last part of its body. When the mantis is eating you will see the abdomen becoming bigger and bigger. This picture illustrates that beautifully.

Ghost mantis differences males and females

Ghost mantis differences males and females

Male and female mantises look different. Here Jarno highlighted some differences between male and female ghost mantises.

Adult female ghost mantis

Adult female ghost mantis

Just a nice picture of an adult Ghost mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa) to end with. You can read more about this mantis species at the link.

Meet Zompro’s Stick Insect

I got a new species of stick insect! I never had this one before. Many people like very brightly colored stick insects, but I also love the camouflaged ones. My first species where all plain stick-like looking, so I’ve kept a special place in my heart for them. The new species I have is Zompro’s Stick Insect, latin name Parapachymorpha zomproi. PSG 224.

I’ve made some pictures to share with you here. You can read more about this species at it’s own page Zompro’s Stick Insect / Parapachymorpha zomproi

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What I like of this species is that the female has two tiny horns on its head. It reminded me of Medauroidea extradentata. I was doubting if I did not just find a different variant of Medauroidea extradentata, but the lobes on the legs and that the horns on the head where so short did not add up. Finally I managed to ID it as Zompro’s Stick Insect / Parapachymorpha zomproi.

New species description

For some time I was without any stick insects as pets, but now I could not resist to start again. I got some beautiful Necroscia annulipes specimens. Two males and two females. This species is so beautiful. The colors are amazing. I took some pictures today. To read more about this species, check out Necroscia annulipes.

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Adult male Necroscia annulipes

Adult male Necroscia annulipes

Adult male Necroscia annulipes

female

Funny perspective on this female

For more pictures you can check out The Necroscia annulipes page.

male showing its wings

Male showing its wings (after some coaxing)

It’s time to visit the Monarch Butterfly

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Monarch Butterfly with its wings closed

You probably know the Monarch Butterfly. Either you have seen it yourself, or you have seen one of the hundreds of pictures, drawings or commercials featuring this butterfly. It’s a beautiful bright orange butterfly with jet black markings and a few white accents on its wings.

It’s most famous for its migration. The Monarch Butterfly flies from the United States and Canada all the way to Central Mexico. The migration happens in August and October. This means the butterflies are arriving at their overwintering sites in Mexico around now. Why don’t you visit them? It’s something you will never forget. The butterflies can be found in Mexico between mid October until mid March.

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Sierra Chincua Butterfly Sanctuary

If you are visiting Mexico you should definitely stop by at the Monarch Butterfly Natural Reserve. To see millions of butterflies flying all around you is a truly amazing sight. You can see the butterflies in the area close to the city Morelia.

Morelia is in the center of this map

Morelia is in the center of this map, left from Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico)

Want to read more about nature tourism at the Monarch Butterfly reserve? Read our page about the Monarch Butterfly.

Still there are new mantis species being discovered

You would expect we would know the earth and what lives on it by now. But that’s not the case, there are still new species to be discovered. Last year a new mantis species has been discovered in Rwanda, Africa. Not even a previously know species in a different area or country, but a new species alltogether.

Scientists found it in Rwanda’s mountainous Nyungwe National Park. This species got the name Dystacta tigrifrutex, a name inspired on a bush tiger. The researchers found out that the female of this mantis hunts like a tiger. They claim it does not sit and wait until a prey walks by, but actually walks around untill it stubles upon a prey insect. It will then approach carefully and attack. Only the female has been seen showing this behavior, the male is much smaller and lives in the foliage. The female hunts on the ground.

Adult female Bush Tiger Mantis - Image credit Tedrow R et al

Adult female Bush Tiger Mantis – Image credit Tedrow R et al

The scientists found the new species by setting light traps. As described on my page here, a light trap is a white sheet on which strong light is pointed. At night all kinds of moths and other flying insects are attracted to the light and will land on the white sheet. One day a male of the new bush tiger mantis species landed on the sheet and was recognized as a new species. Later a female was found too. Luckily for the researchers she produced an ootheca which hatched dozens of nymphs. In that way they could observe all live stages of the new species of mantis and confirm that the male that was found was really the same species.

It makes me wonder how much is still out there… For the insect enthousiasts that want to breed or keep mantises, this species is not the best to be kept as a pet. It is very small and brown without any interesting extra features.

Source: http://entomologytoday.org/

Indian Flower Mantis

It’s time to showcase one of the mantis species. This time it’s the Indian Flower Mantis. The Latin name for this species is Creobroter gemmatus or Creobroter pictipennis. Both species are very similar, making it difficult to determine which species you have. For breeding it matters with species you have, as they are unable to interbreed.

Read our caresheet of the Indian Flower Mantis to learn more about this species.

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More full size pictures of the Indian Flower Mantis? Click Continue Reading.

Continue Reading →

Is it a wasp? Is it a mantis? No, it’s…

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A mantis fly

a mantis fly! The Latin name of the family is Mantispidae.

It took me a couple of looks to figure out what this creature is. It looks like a mantis, but not quite right. Its head, its antennae, the upright single set of wings and the way the front arms fold don’t make sense for a mantis. The colors make it look like a wasp, but that is just mimicry. By looking like a wasp it discourages predators to attack it they have learned that wasps sting.

A mantisfly or mantidfly is related to lacewings. Its only very distantly related to a praying mantis. The shape of the front legs has developed separately in mantids and mantisflies, making it a nice case of convergent evolution. Both groups of species have developed the raptorial front legs as a way to catch prey. Apparently this “design” is the most functional for insects that catch prey using their vision and their front legs.

Check out the video to know what I’m talking about.

Meet the Wandering Violin

Ever heard of the Wandering Violin mantis? It’s a mantis species that has a bizarre body. It has a normal head and abdomen, but in between there is a huge stretch of body that only serves as camouflage. It breaks up the normal body shape of an insect, making it harder for predators to recognize this mantis as a tasty bite. The rest of the body is also very well camouflaged.

Check out more about the Wandering Violin Mantis on it’s own page.

Subadult male Wandering Violin Mantis

Subadult male Wandering Violin Mantis

Wandering Violin subadult Male

Wandering Violin subadult Male

New mantis species added to this website

I added a new page to the website, it’s about the Chinese Mantis. It is a very common mantis in the United States. It also occurs in China and other parts of Asia. Right now, in the fall, this mantis species can be found as adults in the United States. The females are depositing their eggs. When first frost arrives the adult Chinese Mantises will die. The species continues as eggs. Next spring the eggs will hatch and populate gardens and field with young mantis nymphs. I received some beautifull pictures of a Chinese Mantis from Robert Smith. He made the pictures in his potted garden where a wild female Chinese Mantis took residence. She is beautifull and already produced one egg sac. chinese-mantis-female2

Nice horns, honey

How about a stick insect species in which the female has horns? Meet the Annam Stick Insect. Adult males are just boring with a smooth skin and thin body. But the females, no! They look like they are made of wood and have two funny horns at the top of their head.

You can read all about this species and how to keep it as a pet on the Annam Stick Insect page.

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Adult female Annam Stick Insect