What's for dinner?
If you're a praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a sunflower, sometimes it can be a long wait. Breakfast fades into lunch, lunch fades into dinner...
First you scout out your territory and spread out (hey, look at me)!. Then you lurk in the shadows (don't look at me; I am not here)!
Where, oh, where is the prey?
And then it happens. Drama on a sunflower blossom.
This little nymph managed to snag what appeared to be a green bottle fly, or that's what it looked like at the onset. Toward the end it was as unrecognizable as whirled black-eyed peas and pureed ham hocks.
A fly might not be as tasty as a honey bee or a longhorned bee, but dinner is served. Bon Appétit!
Attached Images:
A praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, spreads out across a sunflower blossom in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gotcha! The praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, snags what appears to be a green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, finishing dinner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)