Posts Tagged: Stagmomantis limbata
Henrietta and the Drone Fly: The Predator and the Prey

Henrietta, our Stagmomantis limbata praying mantis, perches on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). She...
Henrietta, our Stagmomantis limbata praying mantis, lies in wait on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia.) (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A drone fly (syrphid) lands on the blossom as a hungry praying mantis watches intently. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
One quick move and praying mantis has dinner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The spiked forelegs hold the prey in place. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's eat and be eaten in the garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Henrietta the praying mantis polishes off the last of the fly but a wing is visible evidence of what happened. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Henrietta and the Ootheca

Talk about the unexpected. “Look!” says Jim. He pauses by the kitchen counter....
Henrietta, a Stagmomantis limbata, hanging out in a patch of Mexican sunflowers. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is the ootheca that Henrietta (which means "home ruler") deposited before we released her. The species? Stagmomantis limbata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of the ootheca, magnified with a Leica DVM6 microscope operated by Lynn Epstein, UC Davis emeritus professor of plant pathology.
Ooh, an Ootheca!

Hide and seek. She hides 'em and we seek 'em. We've spotted as many as seven adult praying...
Ms. Mantis, on a redwood stake in a milkweed planter in Vacaville, Calif., is trying to find a place to lay her egg mass, an ootheca. This image was taken Sunday night, Sept. 23. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This looks like a good spot. This praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, is native to North America. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ms. Mantis begins to work. Note the frothy cream-colored substance. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of the process. This Stagmomantis limbata did so in the open. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
At dawn the next morning, we found her still on the stake with her hardening ootheca. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The World of Praying Mantids: A Question Posed, A Question Answered

Last summer you may have happened upon praying mantids mating. Hopefully, the male didn't lose his...
Mating pair of Stagmomantis limbata, a common mantis in Vacaville, Calif. The male did not lose his head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Mating pair of mega mantids, Plistospilota guineensis. These mantids are part of Andrew Pfeifer's collection in Monroe County, N.C. See the result below! (Photo by Andrew Pfeifer)
Praying mantis authority Andrew Pfeifer, who administers the public Facebook page, Mantis Keepers, captured this image of his Plistospilota guineensis ootheca. It's about the size of a large chicken egg. (Photo by Andrew Pfeifer)
Find the Praying Mantids in the Milkweed

It's 6 a.m. Do you know where your praying mantids are? Well, yes. Two of them. Just before dawn...
Early morning silhouette: Find the two praying mantids. There's a female and a male clinging to the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
As morning dawns, a female praying mantis,Stagmomantis limbata, checks out what's below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, clings to a milkweed stem. Just above him: a female, not seen in this photo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hmm...where are you, my little buddy? The female praying mantis looks around for the male. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The next morning, the female praying mantis ambushes and eats a honey bee. The male? Nowhere in sight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)