Posts Tagged: praying mantis
Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer
You've heard the expression, "On a wing and a prayer." It apparently originated during World War...
A tattered monarch makes a refueling stop on a Tithonia in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wings are shredded and scales slashed, but this male monarch still flies. Here it pauses to soak up some sunshine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A predator missed--but a miss is as good as a mile. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A migratory monarch, after sipping some flight fuel in Vacaville, Calif. takes off "on a wing and a prayer," heading for an overwintering site along the coast. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Monarch and the Mantis
If you're rearing monarchs or offering them a “way station” of nectar-producing flowers...
A gravid praying mantis, her abdomen bloated, grabs a migrating monarch nectaring on a butterfly bush. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis, perfectly camouflaged, resembles a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A spiked foreleg circles the monarch's thorax. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The spiked foreleg pierces a wing. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sometimes The Unexpected Happens
Sometimes the unexpected happens. Take the case of the female praying mantis delivered to the...
UC Davis entomology student Wade Spencer holds the female praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The female praying mantis exploring. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Predator and the Pest
So here's this praying mantis perched on top of a prickly pear cactus. It's early morning and...
Breakfast! A hungry praying mantis eyes a cabbage white butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
With a lightning strike, the praying mantis grasps the cabbage white butterfly with its spiked forelegs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Holding it up like a trophy, the praying mantis begins to eat. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis concentrates on breakfast. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Finished! Breakfast is over. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
In a Butterfly State-of-Mind
So here's this gravid praying mantis perched on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) in a Vacaville...
An unsuspecting monarch lands next to a Mexican sunflower occupied by a predator, a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch spots the praying mantis and in a winged frenzy, begins his escape. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch escapes. A close call! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's time to practice some more patience and persistence. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)