Mantis Nursery

[Don Ellis]

Yesterday, before the worst typhoon of the year hit Hong Kong, we spent part of the afternoon lashing things to masts, furling awnings, and laying plants and potted trees on their sides before the wind flattened them for us. This morning, we surveyed the damage (not bad) and put things right.

I was nearly finished when I felt something crawling up my arm and looked down to find a baby mantis (three days after my last forum thread on mantids). The babies are pretty nondescript and I was busy, so I put him off on a plant -- not the easiest thing to do, since they would rather crawl up your arm than get off -- and continued working. A few minutes later, I saw another baby on one of the garden tables, so I figured I was being called.

I picked up the G2, screwed on +15 diopters worth of magnification, and went to work. As it turned out, there were five babies on the plant just below the table, so it looks like I’ll have some future stars if they avoid the birds.

One of the problems of +15 is the depth of field is about two sheets of bond paper thick. So you never get all the animal in focus and it’s doubly difficult when you’re trying to photograph two at once. Plus you get to shoot handheld because they’re pretty much on the move.

In this first shot, I managed to get at least part of each one on the same plane. They’re all about half-an-inch (1.25cm) long, nose to tail...



Leaf reflections and shiny head domes...



More leaf, less dome...



Laser headlights and a prelude to the photo after this one...



This one I think of as “Nightmare on Mantis Street.� These tiny creatures come SWAT-team ready right from birth and if you’re a gnat or ant or other small creature, this is your worst nightmare. They play “statue� in the foliage and snatch passing prey with their pincers...



And on that cheery note...

Don

[Sheri]

Don, they're great, much sharper than I expected based on your narrative. They really do look like little aliens when you look at their faces.

A good macro trick to make the most of your DOF is to shoot with your highest F stop, and low output or difused flash.

I like the dramatic framing you've done here and in your other mantis thread.

You say you're concerned about the birds, I never knew it but I have seen several sites warning that preying mantis's attack hummingbirds!

[Ikinaa]

Sheri wrote:
Don, they're great, much sharper than I expected based on your narrative. They really do look like little aliens when you look at their faces.

A good macro trick to make the most of your DOF is to shoot with your highest F stop, and low output or difused flash.

I like the dramatic framing you've done here and in your other mantis thread.

You say you're concerned about the birds, I never knew it but I have seen several sites warning that preying mantis's attack hummingbirds!

Here are some facts I found about hummingbirds.
http://www.epinions.com/content_3171721348
It's stated that preying mantis's attack hummingbirds.
But I think they have not to be afraid of Yours because hummingbirds only live on the american continent

[rockyc2]

Sheri wrote:
Don, they're great, much sharper than I expected based on your narrative. They really do look like little aliens when you look at their faces.

A good macro trick to make the most of your DOF is to shoot with your highest F stop, and low output or difused flash.

I like the dramatic framing you've done here and in your other mantis thread.

You say you're concerned about the birds, I never knew it but I have seen several sites warning that preying mantis's attack hummingbirds!

Sheri and Don, I did some research and found several sites pertaining to Praying Mantids eating Birds. On one site, they actually showed a picture of a Mantis eating a Hummingbird. It is pretty gory sight, so I didn't put it on here.
Here is one research I found..
The praying mantis is a carnivorous insect that takes up a deceptively humble posture when it is searching for food. When at rest, the mantis' front forelegs are held up together in a posture that looks like its praying. These front legs are equipped with rows of sharp spines used to grasp its prey. They wait unmoving and are almost invisible on a leaf or a stem, ready to catch any insect that passes. When potential prey comes close enough, the mantis thrusts its pincher-like forelegs forward to catch it. The prey probably won't escape because the forelegs are so strong and armed with overlapping spines. The mantid bites the neck of its prey to paralyze it and begins to devour it. The mantis almost always starts eating the insect while it's still alive, and almost always starts eating from the insect's neck. This way, the mantis makes sure that the insect's struggle stops quickly. Praying mantises eat insects and other invertebrates such as other mantises, beetles, butterflies, spiders, crickets, grasshoppers, and even spiders. The praying mantises also eat vertebrates such as small tree frogs, lizards, mice and hummingbirds. Praying mantids can resemble flowers and can catch small, unknowing hummingbirds. Praying mantids also eat other nesting birds.

Rocky

[scottbergerphoto]

Great pictures! I Love my G2 as well. I recently added the 10D, but the G2 is a super camera. Nice work.
Scott

[new girl on the bloc]

interesting narrative to go along with some great photos. but now i see these little creatures in a whole new light with the info on them eating sweet little hummingbirds, drats!

[yason]

great photos and you are very lucky too... I always wanted to capture praying mantis but I can hardly find them as they are always hidding somewhere under some leave etc....

[Laziferous]

I've never seen a mantis with red eyes (I guess that would be the iris portion)... only green, with black dots (pupils?).

You keep making these creatures interesting to look at Don. You have such a great eye. Kudos my man.

[stopbath]

Thanks for paying heed to the little guys and capturing their images. They sure are cute (unless you're small enough to fit in their clutches.)
Great shots.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Great photos again Don!

I hope they made it through the typhoon.

[CyberDyneSystems]

http://members.tripod.com/~kensterling/Hummer1.jpg

[marie]

they are just wonderful shots don
all of them but especially the last.
that certain way the heads are cocked is great.
like as though they are asking a question.
they are so small too.

a whole new generation coming up.
we feel we know them so well now
thanks a lot

best wishes

marie