Insect Photography: my first encounter with the praying mantis
Hi there my Hivean friends and followers!
You know how much I love nature and animals and I cannot believe that it took me so long to finally meet my very first praying mantis living in the wild and I cannot believe even more where it actually happened :) I mean after all those years that I have spent in the tropical and subtropical regions around the world where this fascinating insect commonly occurs, I actually got to meet my first wild praying mantis in my mum´s garden here in the Czech Republic! I didn´t know that the mantises could live here at all, let alone now in the cold autumnal weather!
One of the most iconic and extraordinary insects on Earth, the praying mantises are known for many interesting things such as their ability to turn their heads a full 180 degrees, their highly efficient hunting methods, their specific dance like moves or, most famously, the so called sexual cannibalism (the females sometimes eat the males after mating).
The praying mantis is such a fascinating creature and I was really excited to finally see one in the wild. Here are some pictures of the mantis that I took ;)
I´m pretty sure it was a female as it was a pretty big specimen, measuring some 7 or 8 cm (females are much bigger than males) and it struck this cool pose in my sister´s hand for the camera (yeah, it´s actually my sister´s hand, not mine, which is why the mantis appears to be ever bigger than it really was, my sister has little hands :D)
So yeah, that was my very first encounter with this beautiful animal. After the photo shooting, we put it back on the tree where I found it of course ;)
How about you guys? Do the praying mantises live in your countries too? Have you seen them in the wild? Let me know in the comment section below!
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We have lots of praying mantis here in our province living anywhere. It comes in green and brown color. We also have the very big ones. I can imagine how amazed you were to finally see a praying mantis.☺️
Wow, that sounds awesome! How do the local people treat them? Are they considered pets or pests? :)
I had one not long ago in my room, hiding on the curtain and making a terrible noise, not letting me sleep.
I did not know you can catch them and hold them, but you were lucky as you got a photo model for free 😁
It's a nice one by the way and congrats on the photos!
Are you sure it was a mantis? I haven´t read anything about them making some noise :) Well, it was my sister´s idea to hold it, I would probaby just take photos as it was on the tree but my sister actually enjoys holding and petting all kind of animals including those that many people wouldn´t touch :D
So your sister isn't afraid of them? Because I was quite afraid at first. 😱😅 Even now, after so many encounters with them in the garden, I couldn't say I could hold one in my hand. Here, in Bulgaria, they are quite common in recent years (I have written several times about them as well), although it was not like that before. And now, in the fall, some adopt a brownish trim, I guess for camouflage purposes.
My sister is not afraid of any animal haha :D, when she was a kid, she would even grab random snakes in the forest, one actually bit her... I knew that the mantises are common in Southern Europe but apparently, they have been expanding northward too lately... I think the brown ones are a different species but I´m not sure :)
Could be. I'm no expert either 😊
Your soul is like my soul, which never stops loving nature, because nature holds a million beauty and uniqueness
Good to know that we have similar souls :D Thanks for stopping by man, always a pleasure.
You're welcome guys
You took amazing photos ❤️
Thank you :)
Aawww love them. I had a large praying mantis visiting my garden up in the mountains.
It walked right up my hand. It’s face is so interesting. Like little aliens 👽
So cool… fascinating insects.
Thanks for sharing and bringing back memories!
Wow! So you turned one into a pet, that´s nice :) Fascinating animals indeed. Thanks for sharing your experience with us LittleBee! :)
If you have enough to eat for them in the garden, they will stay a while 😉🤓 and can recognise you and stop being shy.
Not really a pet though hehehe 🤭
You are so welcome @phortun 😉enjoy your day further 👋🏻
Right. Some articles actually say that mantises can recognize humans indeed :)
And they truly do… will dive into my archives if I have a photo from it. I let you know when I find some.
Dear @phortun!
I am glad meet to you! Are you european? I am eastasian!
I enjoy to your good photos!
Mantises are attractive and good hunters.
Where I live, the mantis is known for its valiant and excellent predators!
Hey there, yes, I´m from Europe, nice to meet you :) Thanks for sharing your experience with these amazing creatures :)
They are beautiful! I must confess that when I was little I was afraid of them, of grasshoppers too... but not anymore :)
Heh, I suppose the mantises are common in both of "your" countries Venezuela and Greece :) Well, I´m not really comfortable holding certain animals in my hand, which is weird because as a kid, I used to keep these monsters as pets and had them crawling all over me :D I got squeamish with time I guess :D
(not my photo, it´s from Wikipedia)
Yes, I have been around these insects in both countries :)
Hahaha, hey, I've never seen this one in the photo before! Its image is quite creepy....
It´s the giant prickly stick insect aka the Australian walking stick :) Very interesting animal. Very big too :D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extatosoma_tiaratum
It's impressive!
Lovely photos taken @phortun and thanks for sharing.
Thanks for checking them out ;)
Excellent!!!!!!!. very nice, greetings
Thanks for your visit!
You are welcome 🙋🙋
Oh they're all over the place here I Nigeria. Or is it grasshoppers that I mistake for these? I dunno, I never go close enough unless they're too weak. Insects jumping around me scare me a lot. Anyway, the look of it in the 3rd frame would make a nice giant insect ready to dominate the earth like in the movies. Not so nice though :>
Nice shots.
Hehe, you are right, I think the horror / scifi movie producers got inspired by this insect :) Just multiply their size by 100 and you have the perfect animal candidate to take over the planet :D
I've seen those before, but for some reason everyone told me they were dangerous. Looks like their claims don't proceed.
Completely harmless to humans ;) In fact, they are often kept as pets here in Europe.
I guess elders fooled me so I stopped annoying them about the mantis then
bastards
Totally OT but... what do you think of the new president of your country? It got covered quite a lot in our media and the main narrative was that Lula will be a better option as he is smarter, less corrupted and more eco friendly than Bolsonaro. The articles literally said that Lula is a great hope for the Amazon rainforest that Bolsonaro didn´t care about at all. Is that right?
He's a piece of shit just like any other politician. Best thing I can do is load up on Bitcoin and be ready to move if this country goes the same route as Argentina.
Really? So you think he wouldn´t do anything about the damage of the rainforest either? That´s sad man :( It´s just heartbreaking to realize how fast the forest has been vanishing...
Anyway, loading up on Bitcoin sounds like a good plan, no matter what country you live in so good luck with that ;)
They are not fighting the root of the problem in the Amazon forest. Who is buying the wood? That's the question nobody touches. Also, you know we have a ranch; the law is absolutely rigid against damaging the native forest. So, if people are cutting down trees it's because corrupt supervision agents allow. The thing is that most countries are not interested in the good of the forest, but in the goods of the forest.
Anyways, it's a very sensitive topic and those 'who know too much' tend to disappear xD
I see. And I won´t be asking you more questions on this topic, I don´t want you to disappear :D
Me neither hahahahaha
the sole thing we can do is to visit the forest whist it's still there
Excelentes fotos al lindo mantis, pero le temo un poco jajaja
Thanks for checking out the photos my friend, glad you like them :) And no need to be afraid btw, these guys might be dangerous to other insects but completely harmless to humans ;)
🐲💚💫Je nádherná!
Je :) Snad někde v teple přečká zimu a na jaře tam zase bude.
It is a magnificent as well as frightening insect. I used to see it many times in my childhood, I don't remember when I have seen it last time.
Really? I hope it doesn´t mean that the mantises have disappeared from your country, maybe you just haven´t been so lucky lately :)
Not disappeared, but decreased...
I see. Maybe that´s because they moved to our country :D
Praying Mantis are so cool and always pose for some great photos.
They do! Videos are actually even cooler as the creatures apparently like to "dance" too :)
!BEER
Vďaka! :)
This is giving me anxiety. Your sister is actually holding a mantis in her hand. I could never. How does it feel? Did it tickle on her hand or did it bite?
We call a mantis tiddi in our native language. It's the mantis who makes the chirping sound in the night, right? Did you know the sounds made by this insect is actually an indication of a safe surrounding. They only stop making these sounds if they feel some danger around them
Hehe, I don´t know how it felt to hold the mantis in the hand but my sister has held a lot of different animals in her hands so I guess it was nothing special for her :) Plus she already saw some mantises before, unlike me...
Well, chirping sound... I don´t know. Here in my country, it´s just the crickets and the cicadas who make some chirping sounds in the night but who knows, maybe the mantises can join the concert too :D :)
Great @phortun! You're really lucky, I have never find a mantis, I have only seen them on tv and in books ☹️
Really? That´s interesting because I got the impression from your sister´s comment that you girls used to encounter them often, both in Greece and in Venezuela :)
Yes, I have never seen one. Well, My sister has seen mantis but I don't think she would touch it hahaha, she is afraid of most of the insects 😂🤭 specially of cockroaches and grasshoppers, she runs away from them 😱 🤣🤣🤣🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♀️and from every insect that makes a loud bzzzzz sound 😂😂😂😂😂 I have scared her many times with that 🤭😼😈
What?? Really?? :DDD Haha that´s so funny! I thought that you are very similar in everything :) I know that you are taller than Sofia but other than that, I thought that you were like twins :D So you both love animals but it´s just you who is not afraid to touch them, right? :D
Praying mantis is very common in Philippines. We see them almost everyday. Green one live in green leafy plants and brown live on brown trees barks, sticks, leaves, or flowers. They are very good at camouflage into an environment. I used to leave them alone in farm garden because they are very good at killing harmful insects. They are harmless and adorable creatures.
Wow, thank you very much for this great info about the mantis situation in the Philippines :) Apparently, they are common in many parts of the world indeed, just like the Wikipedia says :D You even have 2 species of them in your place, that´s so cool :)
Wow, what an amazing animal! I didn't know they lived in Europe.
Well, I knew they live in Southern Europe but obviously not just there :) Amazing animals indeed. Thanks for checking out the photos :)
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Dodatečně díky, poslední týdny jsem na tom fakt nějak blbě s časem, tohle se mi dřív nestávalo...
Nejsem na tom o moc lépe. Skoro ani nestíhám číst články a o odpovědích ani nemluvím
No vidíš, zase mi trvalo 3 dny, než jsem ti na tohle odepsal :D :(
Jsou prostě dny, kdy se nestíhá :-)
No u mě už jsou to spíš týdny až měsíce :D Ale zase se to uklidní, postarám se o to... Nejsem ten typ člověka, pro kterého je nestíhání, shon a stres životní standard... Na to jsem až příliš dlouho pobýval v jižanských oblastech :)
K tomu mě napadá jen jedno. Chinaski - Jaký si to uděláš, takový to máš :-)