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I love it! Reminds of the old sci-fi films were they zoomed in on ants climbing on model buildings.
Way cool! What strikes me is that after not seeing a Praying Mantis for decades, the last one in the Bronx no less, just this past weekend I'm walking out of my front door and there's one perched on the railing of my front porch(if it were concrete back in the Bronx it would be a stoop) and now you post one. They are very cool looking.
Mike
That was very cool.
But boy, I hate when that happens....
George
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Would make a good brakeman!
Thanks for the laughs!
Al Hummel
You don't see that everyday! I can empathize with jumping out of your skin at first glance - a few winters ago I did the same thing when a mouse came running out of one of my tunnels as a train entered from the other end.
-Greg
Yesterday, when I went to open my back gate, I found its cousin on the latch and, like you, it was a bit of a surprise. Mine now lives on a planter full of begonias and alyssum. Thanks for putting it elsewhere instead of killing it, like many would have done.
ALL lives matter in my book...even bugs.
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Fascinating creatures. When I was a kid, I would occasionally keep one in an aquarium or large jar for awhile before setting it free (they are protected in WV). I used to catch bunches of lightning bugs and put them in the jar. The mantis was insatiable and would eat everything I put in the jar. I finally set him/her free because I couldn't keep up with their appetite!
George
Alan Hummel posted:Would make a good brakeman!
Thanks for the laughs!
Al Hummel
Should also discourage 1:48 scale hobos more effectively than the railroad police! 
George
And I'd be right behind you, unless you were too slow. In which case, I would be in front, after climbing over you to get to the door!
Mark in Modesto posted:Yesterday, when I went to open my back gate, I found its cousin on the latch and, like you, it was a bit of a surprise. Mine now lives on a planter full of begonias and alyssum. Thanks for putting it elsewhere instead of killing it, like many would have done.
ALL lives matter in my book...even bugs.
Absolutely right. If I catch a spider in the house, I pick it up gently with a kleenex and put it out in the yard. They're very beneficial, as is the mantis. I always enjoy seeing a praying mantis; as others have noted, they are amazing creatures.
"Absolutely right. If I catch a spider in the house, I pick it up gently with a kleenex and put it out in the yard. They're very beneficial, as is the mantis. I always enjoy seeing a praying mantis; as others have noted, they are amazing creatures. "
Unless it tries to attack you... there are some aggressive spiders out there!
The Mrs. bought some bananas at the grocery store and a nice sized banana spider was hiding in them... I have never seen a spider rear its head and forearms and hiss at me! 
You got me to look it up - I always thought it was " praying" because they sort of have their hands folded in prayer. They are indeed predators.
The car and its wheels make me think Proto-48. Looks very good.
John, Unless as George suggested above, the mantis is out of scale for the scene even for a foreground model! LOL!
There's a bit of the Jain in me . . . "all life is sacred."
All who feel that "bugs too have rights," should have a bug catcher for "humane" relocation of uninvited guests of the many-legged persuasion.
Not expensive, lasts forever, easy to use, no batteries . . .
My resident spiders also are returned to the outdoors to continue their work.
Nairb Rekab posted:My resident spiders also are returned to the outdoors to continue their work.
Spiders = God's pest control company.
Looks like that Praying Mantis is keeping three points of contact so he won't attract any "weed weasels" trying to put him out of service.
bob2 posted:You got me to look it up - I always thought it was " praying" because they sort of have their hands folded in prayer. They are indeed predators.
The car and its wheels make me think Proto-48. Looks very good.
It's "preying". They are voracious predators.
And they have some bizarre mating habits. The male has a ganglion in its head that prohibits mating. The male often has his head bit off by the female, after which they mate. She then eats the rest of the body.
As a female biologist lecturer at WVU put it "She gets to have her cake and eat it, too!"
Seems like a high price to pay.
George
I always put those critters out safely, unless they are black with a red belly, then they get squished!
The male often has his head bit off by the female, after which they mate.
Geeeez, thanks to that and the Zika virus, there are now THREE meanings to the expression "Getting a little head."
God will probably get me for that...
Anonymous in Modesto
I participate in a gardening website (National Gardening Association) which has a Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum. Would it be permissible for me to post copies of your pictures on the "Bee Friends and other Garden Guests - Chapter 5" thread? I believe that they would really get a kick out of it.
Alan Hummel posted:Would make a good brakeman!
Thanks for the laughs!
Al Hummel
Right away, I thought the same thing. Give him a hat!
Mark Boyce posted:Alan Hummel posted:Would make a good brakeman!
Thanks for the laughs!
Al Hummel
Right away, I thought the same thing. Give him a hat!
Who? Al or the preying mantis?
George
bob2 posted:You got me to look it up - I always thought it was " praying" because they sort of have their hands folded in prayer. They are indeed predators.
The name "praying mantis" is correct, for the reason you mentioned. The following information is from the National Geographic:
"The praying mantis is named for its prominent front legs, which are bent and held together at an angle that suggests the position of prayer. The larger group of these insects is more properly called the praying mantids. Mantis refers to the genus mantis, to which only some praying mantids belong.
Hunting Adaptations
By any name, these fascinating insects are formidable predators. They have triangular heads poised on a long "neck," or elongated thorax. Mantids can turn their heads 180 degrees to scan their surroundings with two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them.
Typically green or brown and well camouflaged on the plants among which they live, mantis lie in ambush or patiently stalk their quarry. They use their front legs to snare their prey with reflexes so quick that they are difficult to see with the naked eye. Their legs are further equipped with spikes for snaring prey and pinning it in place.
Breeding and Behavior
Moths, crickets, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects are usually the unfortunate recipients of unwanted mantid attention. However, the insects will also eat others of their own kind. The most famous example of this is the notorious mating behavior of the adult female, who sometimes eats her mate just after—or even during—mating. Yet this behavior seems not to deter males from reproduction.
Females regularly lay hundreds of eggs in a small case, and nymphs hatch looking much like tiny versions of their parents."
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jgtrh62 posted:Sure marsrover,
feel free to use the images as you wish or if you prefer contact me off-line and I will send you the image files.
I also shot the following video clip of the "Brakeman" on top the car.
Thank you,
John
I did not see an e-mail address in your profile; but my e-mail address is in my profile.
breezinup posted:Females regularly lay hundreds of eggs in a small case, and nymphs hatch looking much like tiny versions of their parents."
Many moons ago, when I was in first grade, our teacher would have us bring cacoons in to be placed in a planter in the classroom window. I brought several strange cylindrical samples that I found behind our shed. This was on a Thursday or Friday. Monday morning the teacher met me in the hall as I got to school. There were several hundred 1" long praying mantis nymphs all over the classroom. They were quite a distraction for a few days. The janitor was able to get quite a few of them outside and vacuumed up a lot more. But, there were still many lurking in desk, closets and book cases. To some of the class I was a hero. To others I was a villan. If I remembered anything from first grade, it is what a praying mantis cacoon looks like.
Tom
Tom Densel posted:breezinup posted:Females regularly lay hundreds of eggs in a small case, and nymphs hatch looking much like tiny versions of their parents."
Many moons ago, when I was in first grade, our teacher would have us bring cacoons in to be placed in a planter in the classroom window. I brought several strange cylindrical samples that I found behind our shed. This was on a Thursday or Friday. Monday morning the teacher met me in the hall as I got to school. There were several hundred 1" long praying mantis nymphs all over the classroom. They were quite a distraction for a few days. The janitor was able to get quite a few of them outside and vacuumed up a lot more. But, there were still many lurking in desk, closets and book cases. To some of the class I was a hero. To others I was a villan. If I remembered anything from first grade, it is what a praying mantis cacoon looks like.
Tom
Well done.
George
