Praying Mantis
Between being able to swivel its head nearly 180 degrees, and having two large compound eyes and three simple eyes, the Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) misses very few insects within reach. Due to its green or brown coloration, the Praying Mantis is well camouflaged as it lies in ambush or stalks its prey. Spines, tooth-like tubercles and a claw near the tip of each foreleg enable this predator to have a secure grasp on the moths, crickets, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects it consumes. (A Praying Mantis in Pennsylvania was photographed successfully capturing a Ruby-throated Hummingbird!) The pictured female is heavy with hundreds of eggs she will soon lay in a foam case she whips up.
An excellent image, Mary.
September 13, 2012 at 12:52 pm
Mary, I saw a small mantis the other day, about 3 inches, hanging in a grassy tuft with its wings uncovered. It was rhythmically curling its abdomen, and the sound, which was what attracted first my dog’s and then my attention was like regular raspy breathing. – phh, phh, phh… I think the sound came from the friction between the abdomen and the wings. I watched it for maybe 15 minutes, and on my return it was still there, but with wings covered and abdomen extended normally. Do you have any idea waht she/he was doing?
September 13, 2012 at 2:30 pm
When threatened, mantids expel air through their spiracles, or breathing holes, along their abdomen, and it has a sort of hissing sound. Perhaps this is what you heard?
September 14, 2012 at 3:50 pm