Posts Tagged: Praying mantis

Jackie-in-the-Box

In your childhood, somebody probably gave you a jack-in-the-box toy, a music box that you crank up, and then the lid springs opens and out pops...

A female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, pops up between the petals of a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. Surprise! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, pops up between the petals of a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. Surprise! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Bee and the Mantis

So here's this praying mantis, a female Mantis religiosa, tucked beneath a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a...

A honey bee forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, as a female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, perches below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, as a female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, perches below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Just Dropping by to Say 'Hello'

A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, stretches beneath a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville garden. Ms....

A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, stretches beneath a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, stretches beneath a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Meet a Male Mantis in a Patch of Blanket Flowers

So there he is, a praying mantis in a patch of blanket flowers, Gaillardia, in a Vacaville garden. He's a male Mantis religiosa, as slim as a...

The male Mantis religiosa, investigates his surroundings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male Mantis religiosa, investigates his surroundings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, I think I'll go this way. The male praying mantis changes directions. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, I think I'll go this way. The male praying mantis changes directions. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male mantis does an Olympic-style stretch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male mantis does an Olympic-style stretch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Let Us Prey

So here's this female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, camouflaged on a narrow-leaf milkweed, Asclepias fasciculari, in a Vacaville...

A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, moves up a narrow-leafed milkweed in a search for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, moves up a narrow-leafed milkweed in a search for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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