I photographed this praying mantid last night on the flowers of a Wax Jambu Syzygium samarangense. There are around 160 described species of mantid in Australia with the greatest diversity in the tropics.
This large, robust female will produce a soft, foam-like oöthecae that hardens under atmospheric exposure. It may contain hundreds of eggs, each individually housed in a sealed compartment and a day or so after emerging, the nymphs begin to cannibalise one another.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.
Sorta like aspiring models in a junk TV series?
Jen, as an entomologist, please tell me that there is a sound physiological reason why the first aliens we encounter, can’t be a 6 ft versions of these things.
The first and only time I saw a Praying Mantid was in Corfu, Greece.
Neil,
so what is a Praying Mantis? or is it a simple nomenclature issue.
Louis,
One mantid – many mantids; one mantis – many mantises. The choice is yours.
Hasbeen, entomologists know about insects … not aliens. 🙂
You can’t fool us Jen. We all saw this bugger jump out of that guy’s chest in the Alien movie.