The other day I was walking in the garden enjoying some beautiful rose blooms.
Everything seemed in order until I noticed that a tallish stalk of a caryopteris plant was bent at the tip. Wilting? But it is a drought tolerant plant. I came closer to investigate.
This is, I think, a female California mantis. I have seen several of them in my garden this summer, hanging upside down by their hind legs, waiting for prey. I brought a chair and my camera, and decided to sit next to it and see what it catches.
That day, everywhere I looked there seemed to be lots of darting little butterflies called fiery skippers. Their larvae are a lawn pest, and adults, being only minor pollinators, are most useful as food for insect predators.
Finally, one of the skippers decided to explore the caryopteris blooms.
The mantis and I were both watching it breathlessly. The poor thing didn't even realize what a big audience it had.
A quick lunge and it was impaled on the mantis's sharp forelegs. In one bite the butterfly was beheaded and dinner was ready.
The wings, apparently of no culinary interest, were quickly discarded.
While the mantis was in the middle of its dinner, another skipper alighted on the flowers. Will greed or prudence prevail? Will the mantis ignore it and continue eating, or will it let go of its dinner and risk a miss at the second butterfly?
The mantis didn't think it had to choose. The first skipper was finished in two quick gulps, and then another lunge, and the second course was served.
And then came a honeybee. Those caryopteris flowers must be full of nectar. I thought, surely not a bee?
But the mantis didn't have any qualms. Good or bad, they were all dinner.
Little insects, however, excited no interest. Barely a mouthful, they were probably not worth the effort of catching.
But watching honeybees disappear one after another was hard. My only consolation was that my roses are looking wonderful. No katydid damage and very few cucumber beetles.
And there still seemed to be plenty of honeybees.
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| Shön Ingeborg |
Everything seemed in order until I noticed that a tallish stalk of a caryopteris plant was bent at the tip. Wilting? But it is a drought tolerant plant. I came closer to investigate.
This is, I think, a female California mantis. I have seen several of them in my garden this summer, hanging upside down by their hind legs, waiting for prey. I brought a chair and my camera, and decided to sit next to it and see what it catches.
That day, everywhere I looked there seemed to be lots of darting little butterflies called fiery skippers. Their larvae are a lawn pest, and adults, being only minor pollinators, are most useful as food for insect predators.
Finally, one of the skippers decided to explore the caryopteris blooms.
The mantis and I were both watching it breathlessly. The poor thing didn't even realize what a big audience it had.
A quick lunge and it was impaled on the mantis's sharp forelegs. In one bite the butterfly was beheaded and dinner was ready.
The wings, apparently of no culinary interest, were quickly discarded.
While the mantis was in the middle of its dinner, another skipper alighted on the flowers. Will greed or prudence prevail? Will the mantis ignore it and continue eating, or will it let go of its dinner and risk a miss at the second butterfly?
The mantis didn't think it had to choose. The first skipper was finished in two quick gulps, and then another lunge, and the second course was served.
And then came a honeybee. Those caryopteris flowers must be full of nectar. I thought, surely not a bee?
But the mantis didn't have any qualms. Good or bad, they were all dinner.
Little insects, however, excited no interest. Barely a mouthful, they were probably not worth the effort of catching.
And there still seemed to be plenty of honeybees.
life and death in the garden trough your eyes and a macro lens....cool
ReplyDeleteAmazing photography as usual, Marsha. I didn't know mantis eats bees!
ReplyDeleteSharon, thank you, that should have been the title had I thought of such an apt description myself...
ReplyDeleteDalene, I didn't either, it was quite upsetting to watch. But I am happy as long as a balance is maintained.
These pictures are absolutely totally fascinating!!! This is a perfect example of why I tell people that mantises aren't quite the good predator that everyone thinks they are ... because they eat EVERYTHING, not just bad insects. We had one hanging out on one of our window screens recently, and it was having quite the feast. The cats were watching very intently.
ReplyDeleteAmazing captures!
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have the mantis overhere. Eventhough it lookes rough it's what nature is. I always thought it only eats leaves. beautiful photo's masha.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful sunday.
Fascinating, i had no idea mantis ate large insects like that, and three, wow. Amazing what you learn through the lens of a camera.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are incredibly beautiful and so neat ! What kind of lens did you use ?
ReplyDeleteMasha, you have a lot of patience and a very good camera!Mantises like this one do not live here so it was very interesting to watch their dinner.
ReplyDeleteIt was like watching a short movie about mantis. Beautiful Masha !
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteIsabelle, I was afraid to come too close: I know the butterflies would not have liked that for sure, so I actually used a tele-photo and then cropped the images pretty severely. I am surprised they came out as well as they did.
Oh, dear! I can't believe you caught all that on camera. I thought Praying Mantises only ate the bad guys. I admire your patience and skill with the camera!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a story. Monsters in the Garden!
ReplyDeleteZdjęcia są wspaniałe, ale pokazują smutne wydarzenia. Wiem modliszka też musi jeść, ale motyle i pszczoły, przykro. Pozdrawiam.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are great, but they show a sad event. I also need to eat a praying mantis, but butterflies and bees, sorry. Yours.
Wow, these photos belong in a display or in a spread in a science magazine like National Geographic or Discover! Really--I would try selling them. Incredible!
ReplyDeleteI don't want to watch the mantids here because unfortunately I think most, if not all, are Chinese mantids. I haven't seen an eggcase that looks like it belongs to a Carolina mantid.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for the prey but everybody's gotta eat. Gorgeous photos as always.
You hav been rewarded for your patience, wonderful pictures of the mantis and his victims!
ReplyDeleteSo fascinating, Masha! We have lots of Mantids here, but I've never sat and watched one of them to see what it catches. I will be doing that this summer, though!
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, I just watched one of these eat her mate yesterday. They are seriously seriously one of the scariest things on the planet per pound. Thank god they are only 3 inches high.
ReplyDeleteCreepy, but fabulous, just off to see if that blurry background can be achieved on a compact. Now what's the next post about, man eating Zombies?
ReplyDeleteWow, that are really fabulous photos you made! You make me feel happy, that I'm a bit bigger than those poor insects who ended as a meal.
ReplyDeleteAlex
Beautiful photos and amazing observation to have spotted the mantis in the first place!
ReplyDeleteHola Mashahoy estuvo aquí en la aldea mi hija Montserrat ,quiso mandaste un saludo, ella estudió en Boston y es una admiradora de America, Le tiene un gran agrdecimiento por la formación que ahí recibió, porbalguna razón el iPad no funcionó correctamente, ella también tiene espirito de jardinera,puedes ver algunas de sus rosas si escribes - ortodoncia m g -es consolador que la jardinería pueda de alguna forma crear como un espirito de Tribu.
ReplyDeleteUn afectuoso saludo
Maruxa
Fantastic photos, love the detail of the mantis.
ReplyDeleteGaz: Alternative Eden
These photos are phenomenal!! WOW! Life as an insect is rough. Mantis are such fierce predators. I wonder if they're ever stung by the bees?
ReplyDelete