Preying Mantid!

This guy was sheltered inside a rip in our screen door yesterday. We had horrible storms, and I guess that he must have been pretty intelligent, finding such a safe spot out of the rain.. He had a right nice shelter in between the screen and glass! Once the weather improved, I gently helped him get out into the world again.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...es/mantid4.jpg

I love these things. It makes me smile anytime I see them. This one is pretty small though.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...mantidbest.jpg

Weird! I found one the other day while I was out back washing out some tubs and cages. Seeing him totally made my day. He too was sooooo tiny.

http://primevalbeauty.com/pm.jpg

http://primevalbeauty.com/pm2.jpg

I haven't seen one of them in years, I used to love finding them as a kid, guess I got to spend more time in a field.

Is there a visual sexual dimorphism with the praying mantids? I think that the larger females are green, whereas the smaller males are brown. Is this true?

Great finds...to the both of you.

Colour has no bearing on whether the mantid is male or female. The females are always much bigger.


TEK

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tobiasking

Colour has no bearing on whether the mantid is male or female. The females are always much bigger.


TEK

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thanks