Photo of the Day #301: Praying mantis

That is really beautiful, did you take the picture? My attempts at photography tend to stay with Petri-dishes and the occasional flower; animals tend to move away when I come close.

The bottom photo is gorgeous. I love that the fuzzy light green area in the background creates a sort of halo for the mantis.

Hooray for charismatic microfauna!

Looks to me like Tenodera aridifolia, the Chinese mantis, one of the species more commonly used for pest control. For solid mantis identification you usually need a good look at the wings, abdomen and the inside of the forelimbs.

Lab; Yup, I snapped it this past weekend. Thanks for the compliment.

Ed; And unto him appeared a holy mantis, touched by the noodly appendage of the most ramen-y...

Neil; Thanks for the tip. I tried to look it up but there were too many similar green species for me to tell what was diagnostic.

Thank you for your photos of the day. I frequently stop by here just for the images as they often bring a semi-forgetten memory to the fore. This photo of a Praying Mantis is a perfect example.

Back in 2001, I was assigned to a forest fire along the Salmon River in Western Idaho, not too far from the town of Riggins. I was working as security on this fire, and found myself spending a day 'babysitting' a high school (the school was being used as an air-conditioned day-sleeping area for the firefighters working night shift (daytime temps of 110 in the shade)) which had no grass and only a few trees (the forest fire was at much higher altitude). As I looked around, trying to keep from losing my mind from boredom, I glanced at one of the few trees by the school and say movement. The movement was a large (3-inch plus?) Praying Mantis in mottled light and dark brown. As I studied it, I noticed a second, then a third, and soon realized the tree was filled with the things. I spent the rest of the day keeping an eye on the entrance road and watching the mantises.

Excellent photos. And thanks for the memories.