Except for three heads of lavender-coloured blooms, the buds are mostly still tight on the Sagewood shrubs (Buddleja salviifolia) in our garden. When looking to see if any more blooms had opened I was delighted to discover a small Flower Mantis nestled in the tiny flowers of one of the flowerheads.
Ever since my neighbour invited me to see three Flower Mantises on a rose bush in his garden (see here), I have been on the lookout for these intriguing creatures and this is the first time I have noticed one in our garden.
The upturned abdomen of this Spiny Flower Mantis (Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii), also known as the Eyed-Flower Mantis, indicates that it is still a nymph and has not yet developed its adult wings. It takes about seven moults for a nymph to reach maturity. This tiny creature, aware of my presence, turns its head to watch me
Because these creatures are shy I photographed it from a distance, zooming in to try to get a close-up shot
Flower Mantids flower-like appearance enable them to be effective ambush hunters, attracting pollinating insects to within close range so that they can then seize and grasp their victim, using their long spiked forelegs.
After first spotting this Flower Mantis I went back to check on it and saw that it had caught a bee that it was grasping in its forelegs as it ate it. Amazingly, the event attracted a group of small flies that can just be seen in flight in this photograph
The Flower Mantis is making short work of the bee it caught, devouring it quickly. However, as can be seen in this photo, some of the flies also settled on the bee as the mantis eats
The Flower Mantis grasps the bee tightly as it eats. By now the wings of the bee have been detached and soon the Mantis drops the exoskeleton, which is all that remains of the bee. The eye-like marking on the thorax, characteristic of this species of Flower Mantis and giving rise to its alternative name – Eyed-Flower Mantis – can be seen in these photos
After its meal, the Flower Mantis spent some time cleaning its forelegs, face and antennae. Here it is settling down for another long wait for its next meal
Posted by Carol
August 12, 2018 at 2:55 pm
Wow! These shots are amazing. Thanks to Ark for pointing me in your direction. 🙂
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August 13, 2018 at 6:20 am
Thank you so much for visiting.
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August 11, 2018 at 9:07 pm
Stunning images of a stunning creature, glad I followed Ark’s link.
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August 13, 2018 at 6:11 am
Thank you so much, Brian.
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August 10, 2018 at 8:11 pm
Fascinating and interesting – excellent post. Thank you!
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August 11, 2018 at 3:47 pm
Thanks very much Leya.
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August 10, 2018 at 3:16 pm
I love your posts and this one is absolutely incredible. Of course, I have never seen a flower mantis (in fact I didn’t know there is such a thing) but to see these remarkable shots of it making light work of it’s lunch feels like a rare privilege. The flies add to the frisson of the event and I was captivated throughout. Bravo, Carol – this is beyond superb!
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August 11, 2018 at 3:44 pm
Thanks so much Osyth. It was so fortunate and
interesting to see, though really tested me and my camera when trying to record it!
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August 10, 2018 at 8:14 am
That’s a fascinating sequence of shots. It’s quite hard to unpick what’s going on, but well worth the effort.
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August 11, 2018 at 3:12 pm
I was worried that the photos are a bit confusing, but all is so tiny and the mantis is such a complex shape, even when it is not eating a bee. Glad to know that you could figure it out.
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August 10, 2018 at 6:08 am
Amazing insects! Thank you so much for your wonderful pictures and your informations, Carol! I have never seen Flower Mantis and it’s a great wish of mine to see them in the wild!
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August 11, 2018 at 3:10 pm
Thanks Simone. I hope you get to see a wild Flower Mantis one day, they really are amazing.
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August 10, 2018 at 5:18 am
WHAT an exciting discovery in your garden! As always, you combine lovely photographs with interesting information. Re comments: I must find out more about Jackal flies – always something new.
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August 11, 2018 at 3:08 pm
Thanks Anne, and it is an exciting discovery. Thanks to Ark I also intend to find out more about Jackal flies.
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August 10, 2018 at 12:04 am
What a fantastic-looking creature! Fastidious, too. 😉
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August 11, 2018 at 3:04 pm
Yes very tidy. I checked up on it earlier today, and it appeared to be resting with its legs tucked in under it as it nestled among the flowers with its chin resting on a petal – really did look sweet!
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August 11, 2018 at 3:29 pm
If cats were insects… 😉
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August 11, 2018 at 3:49 pm
Oddly, it reminds me of one of our cats in other respects too!
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August 9, 2018 at 11:35 pm
Wow…fabulous shots of this fascinating mantis!
So unique in appearance.
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August 11, 2018 at 3:02 pm
Thanks Sandy. It is a fascinating creature – I now go out to visit it at least twice a day 🙂
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August 9, 2018 at 11:05 pm
Utterly fascinating. And such great captures. I had to really study it to sort out what I was seeing.
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August 11, 2018 at 3:01 pm
Thanks Gunta. Its complex shape and cryptic colours and its tiny size do make it confusing.
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August 9, 2018 at 10:36 pm
That mantis is amazing. Even knowing what it is and where it is, I had to look several times to figure out what I was looking at. And then to see it catching a bee, what a great sequence.
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August 11, 2018 at 2:57 pm
Yes it is confusing. It confuses pollinators too! It is so small it was challenging to photograph – especially on a breezy day!
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August 9, 2018 at 10:36 pm
A fascinating creature; it looks out of this world, like something from Star Wars on a small scale, especially in the photo where it turns its head.
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August 11, 2018 at 2:56 pm
Yes, definitely resembles a creature out of science fiction.
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August 9, 2018 at 8:51 pm
I’m glad you’ve done another post on the Flower Mantis. Such curious-looking creatures!
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August 9, 2018 at 9:24 pm
Thanks Liz. They are fascinating and so ornate.
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August 9, 2018 at 8:44 pm
Superb, shots Carol. You are so fortunate to have these mantids in your garden
I believe the flies are called Jackal Flies.
I have photographed them when crab spiders take honey bees, and it seems these flies only appear when a bee is taken.
I read somewhere( forget where) that (honey?) bees give off a unique type of pheromone/ distress signal and this quickly attracts attracts the Jackal Flies. Can’t remember if this has been scientifically verified.
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August 9, 2018 at 8:56 pm
Thanks so much for the interesting info. It was amazing how quickly the flies arrived.
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August 10, 2018 at 11:05 am
I have seen the crab spiders take hoverflies and the occasional butterfly but no Jackal Flies arrive when this prey is taken.
But when a bee is caught they arrive en masse.
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August 11, 2018 at 3:13 pm
That is really interesting Ark. Thanks so much for the feedback. I hope to read up a bit on Jackal flies.
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August 11, 2018 at 3:14 pm
Let me know what you come up with …. or do a post?
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August 11, 2018 at 3:47 pm
🙂
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