Find the Mantis

[Jay Wilson]

I found this bug on one of my pines. Had to google it to find out what it is.

This is a Lichen Mantis.... Wonder how it got its name?

 

[wahoo172]

Jay, you got some weird critters livin up there in the swamp.

Is that pine bonsai? If it is, you should bring it to the meeting Thursday

 

[Jay Wilson]

Hey George, If you think the critters are weird, you should see the people that live out here

The pine is a bonsai....kind of. It's a slash pine I play with and at a little over three feet, it's too big to carry around casually. I'll probably just bring an elm or two. If you think I should, I do have a small slash pine I could bring.

 

[cascade]

Slash pine

Hey George, If you think the critters are weird, you should see the people that live out here

The pine is a bonsai....kind of. It's a slash pine I play with and at a little over three feet, it's too big to carry around casually. I'll probably just bring an elm or two. If you think I should, I do have a small slash pine I could bring.

Jay,

can you post a full picture of your Slash pine by chance?

-dorothy

 

[JasonG]

How very cool!!! I love critters like this!

Thanks for sharing!

I am assuming you left it there to watch over your pine?

Jason

 

[Jay Wilson]

Dorothy,
You would ask to see this pine....... I've seen your slash pine over at IBC, and I'd be a bit embarrased to show mine. Right now it's shaggy and unkempt and even if it was trimmed up it's not very good at all.
I'll take a picture today and PM it to you.

Jason,
I love things like this too.

I left it alone, of course.... it stayed around for a couple of weeks before leaving for wherever mantis' leave for.

 

[cascade]

Slash pine

Jay,

no need to be embarrassed about showing a tree,however it is a good sign..
Here is the Slash pine from the IBC forum,but with loooong hair..

-dorothy

 

[Ken Duncan]

Jay, Cool bug!
Here is a pic of a tree frog I found on one of my crape myrtle bonsai.
I took it off of the ground and put it up on a bench to work on it one day and after about 5 minutes I saw something move out of the corner of my eye, had to look real hard.The picture does not show it but his color blended in perfect with the bark. I showed it to my Wife and she could not see it till I almost touched it.
Ken

 

[Walter Pall]

This butterfly sat on one of my spruce last summer.

 

[Greg Brenden]

Walter--hate to tell you your "butterfly" is a moth. Common name for the Genus would be "Sphinx" the species I do not know. The mantis would snatch it up for a snack in a heartbeat. Be well--Greg

 

[johnbaz]

i used to have a mantis, it lived from spring through to autumn, laid an ootheca (egg case) which i put into a clear plastic container with airholes but the wife kept putting it into a cupboard, i kept bringing it out, eventually i forgot and when i eventually retrieved it, there were about eight tiny (very dead) praying mantis inside, i could have throttled the wife , the poor things must have starved to death, i knew that certain mantids don't need a male to produce young, this was one of them....

the mother reached about 4/5 inches in length and as she was dying, she fell on her side so i offered my finger to help her right herself and almost screamed when she grabbed it, they have very sharp, thorney bits that they keep a hold of their prey with and they really dug in

very nice pics, we don't get anything as nice here in the uk (not wild anyhow....)

rgds, john