Posts Tagged: prey
Catch of the Day
It's early morning and the spider is hungry. It snares a honey bee foraging for pollen and...
An orbweaver snares a honey bee in its sticky web in a patch of Mexican sunflowers, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Tiny freeloader flies (family Milichiidae) grab their share. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Year 2020 Felt Like a Close Encounter of the Worst Kind
The year 2020 felt like a close encounter of the worst kind. The raging COVID-19 pandemic,...
Oops! A Gulf Fritillary, Araulis vanillae, lands near a praying mantis, a female Mantis religiosa, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis lurches toward the unsuspecting butterfly and tries to snag it with its spiked forelegs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Escape! The Gulf Fritillary escapes the predator's clutches. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Portraits of The Predator and the Prey
Heads will not roll. The Hunger Games will not begin. Preying does not always...
Occupied! A praying mantis, a female Stagmomantis limbata occupies a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Double Occupancy: The praying mantis and honey bee share the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Stare: The praying mantis, a carnivore, stares at the honey bee, a vegetarian. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Oh, Yours? The honey bee prepares to leave the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lone Occupancy! The praying mantis again owns the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Zeroing in on the Deadly Game Between Honey Bees and Their Predators
If you're around honey bees, you've seen their predators: crab spiders, orb weavers, praying...
A crab spider nails a honey bee while another honey bee watches. This image, on bluebeard, Caryopteris x clandonensis, was taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Victory in the Verbena
Yes, I'm hungry. A female praying mantis is perched upside down in our pollinator garden. She has...
A female praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata (as identified by Lohit Garikipati of UC Davis) is looking for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Seconds later, the praying mantis nails a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, begins to eat. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A freeloader fly, (family Milichiidae and probably genus Desmometopa) perches on a spiked foreleg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis eats the last of her prey, while the freeloader fly is out of luck. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All gone and done. The praying mantis is finished with her meal. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)