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Monday, December 31, 2012

Year End Mantis Roundup

















Lots of photos left over on the jump drive from 2012;
Stagmomantis californica edition.

As the new year began one of the 2011 mantises was found celebrating on a C7 holiday bulb.  Cheers, and happy new year 2012.













Another adult was playing hard to get among Juan's aeonium a little bit later in January.  The days grow steadily longer but the big mantises disappear.

In March I started seeing tiny ones in various places.  Last photo taken in June, among the grass of June.  Then, a complete dearth of images until after Halloween.





In mid-November, as visions of upcoming Thanksgiving turkey danced in our heads, the succulent mature mantises reappeared from among the shrubberies.  This beauty showed up on a rose across the street.













A few days later this one made an appearance on top of the recycle bin.

Could this have been the same one from the rose, having hitched a ride on my shirt the other day?
A few days passed and no sign of them . . . back into the shrubberies to arise again as a January surprise in 2013?  We can only hope.

1 comment:

Country Mouse said...

Toooo creepy for me. They look like sentient alien beings! I'm getting better with bugs, and in theory I'm really cool with the all, but I still jump when jumped upon! Wonderful photos! Photos I can deal with - reality - hmmmm.... not so much maybe!