PDA

View Full Version : Really BUGS Me!!!



brewmaster15
11-16-2010, 05:17 PM
:):):):)

Came across this one today ... abit late in the year for mantids..but a photo op none-the less. Mantids are some of my favorite creepy crawlies..

-al

brewmaster15
11-16-2010, 05:23 PM
.....

brewmaster15
11-16-2010, 05:28 PM
last ones...

jball1125
11-16-2010, 05:36 PM
Nice pics Al.

Mantids are very cool.

vera
11-16-2010, 05:39 PM
Nice shots Al! more !!!!LOL

Jennie
11-16-2010, 07:26 PM
those are really beneficial to have around, well, so are snakes too and hard to say but spiders...though I will kill a spider in a heartbeat..

Disgirl
11-16-2010, 09:04 PM
Great pictures Al! Tell the folks how the mating process goes with Praying Mantis'. If you don't know I will tell them:D
Barb

wadewc
11-16-2010, 09:18 PM
Nice pics AL! I use to spend alot of time watching them feed. Snatch and munch.

Okay Barb I have been thinking how do they mate? Just curious. Like a black widow eat there mate?

Wade

Second Hand Pat
11-16-2010, 09:19 PM
Those are great pictures Al. Your mantis looks to be the same size of some I find in the summer. These are colored to blend with the bark of the oak. Very cool looking.

Jennie
11-16-2010, 09:51 PM
Wade, the female mantis, when done with the male, bites the head off the male! :) smiley purposely intended

Disgirl
11-16-2010, 11:30 PM
Yep, she sure does! And the male is much smaller than the female. Poor little fellas.
Barb

wadewc
11-17-2010, 08:29 AM
Thanks Ladies! I figured it was going to be something like that.

Kinda reminds me of my first wife.

Wade

Jennie
11-17-2010, 08:37 AM
ooops! LOL, Not much is known about the mysterious creature that reminds me of my ex!

brewmaster15
11-17-2010, 08:44 AM
Lol !!!. Thanks for the pic comments everyone. Yes Mantis females do eat their male counter parts after mating much like spiders... But it is not a definite...sometimes the males make it away and can mate with more females....Nature is wise...waste not...want not....The death of the male insures the female has enough food and resources to lay her eggs. All is not peaches and cream though for the female.. Female mantids die after laying their eggs and become food for other animals. Males that survive breeding usually die with in weeks anyway.

On another note... ...The mating can last a long time...as in over 24 hours.! So if the male does get eaten...he probably does so happy and with a smile on his face. :) maybe that praying pose is as a thank you to the powers that be.:):):) additionally The longer the mating goes on, The male may actually be fulfilling his genetic mandate of passing on the most genes compared to other male mantids as it risks its life.
Gotta love evolution!!

-al

Disgirl
11-17-2010, 09:24 AM
Very interesting Al! Thanks for the additional facts I didn't know. I saw a tiny PM this summer, must have been 1/2" long, looked just like the mom and so very cute!!
Barb

seanyuki
11-17-2010, 09:40 AM
Hey Al......any pics of the female Praying Mantis and babies.....trying to imagine it now.....babies begging for foods

brewmaster15
11-17-2010, 10:12 AM
Hi Francis,
Like most insects, the Mantis babies are on their own when they hatch. What happens is the female lays her eggs ina large spongy insulated cocoon... there can be 100's of eggs in this sack.. She then Dies...but she may actually lay several egg sacks...... The sack over winters and they hatch in the spring and immediately hunt on their own after dispersal.They are also known to be cannibals on siblings.

Egg sacks here...

http://www.google.com/images?q=mantis+egg+case&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=keHjTPe3PMPflge79YHYDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQsAQwAA&biw=1024&bih=574

video on the tube...theres many on the tube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I99WkZ9WkA&feature=related

You can actually buy these eggs and hatch them in the spring....release in your yard..we've done it here a few times...They are good at controlling many pest insects.

-al

seanyuki
11-17-2010, 10:20 AM
Cool video Al.....thanks for sharing.

wadewc
11-17-2010, 10:29 PM
Real interesting Al! Like the video! Interesting mating... Kinda of reminds you of run forrest run. Just kiding.

Thanks for sharing Al!
Wade

Eddie
11-18-2010, 05:39 AM
On another note... ...The mating can last a long time...as in over 24 hours.! So if the male does get eaten...he probably does so happy and with a smile on his face. :) maybe that praying pose is as a thank you to the powers that be.:):):) additionally The longer the mating goes on, The male may actually be fulfilling his genetic mandate of passing on the most genes compared to other male mantids as it risks its life.
Gotta love evolution!!

-al

Guess thats one way to go! LOL Great pictures Al!

Eddie

kent1963
12-08-2010, 12:35 AM
These are definitely one of our coolest bugs in NA. This guy was in my yard this summer. http://s1090.photobucket.com/albums/i364/ktdme1963/

brewmaster15
12-08-2010, 09:13 AM
Hey Kent,
That mantis has one serious attitude! Looks like he's glaring at you saying " what are you staring at mammal, you want a piece of me? well do ya?" :)

-al

dbfzurowski
12-08-2010, 02:29 PM
Nice micro shots Al, what kind of lens you got?

brewmaster15
12-08-2010, 02:54 PM
Thanks,
I use a PENTAX SMC FA 50mm F/2.8 Macro Lens on a Pentax K20D digital SLR. The lens is an older one from my film camera days but it kicks the daylights out of many newer lens made for Digitals...I have many lens but by far Its my favorite lens for close ups.

-al

kent1963
12-08-2010, 09:14 PM
Hey Kent,
That mantis has one serious attitude! Looks like he's glaring at you saying " what are you staring at mammal, you want a piece of me? well do ya?" :)

-al Yeah he was really something! I had a whole series of pics but it looks like the better half deleted all but that one.

Jennie
12-08-2010, 09:49 PM
That's a pretty cool pic kent. Guess you need to save them to disc

dbfzurowski
12-10-2010, 01:46 AM
Thanks for the info Al, how you liking that Pentax setup? I read nothing but good things about their equipment.

brewmaster15
12-10-2010, 04:29 AM
Thanks for the info Al, how you liking that Pentax setup? I read nothing but good things about their equipment.

Hi Dominik,
I've been a pentax user for the last twenty or so years... I've collected alot of pentax cameras and lens over the years and There's some that are just outstanding... like all mfg theres also some that the engineering when to the way side... Theres a real good pentax forum here...http://www.pentaxforums.com/index.php

What I really like most about the pentax cameras is all the lens can be used on digital pentax bodies... some of the old screw mount Lens (M42 Mounts) are decades and decades old and are absolutely amazing optics for their age....coupled with an adapter and you have an endless supply of lens readily availible to use in manual mode.

The only down side to pentax is the availibility of big lens, by big I mean 600 mm fast lens that go for tens of thousands as Nikons and Canons... for me its not an issue...I don't have that kind of cash.. My biggest lens is an old manual 500 mm SMC F4.5 which weighs a ton, takes a great picture but only cost $600 on 15 years ago.

Fast forward to Digitals...I love the K20D.. 14.6 megapixels SLR and just a great camera...feels solid like my older film cameras.. Its been replaced at Pentax with K7's which I hear are even better, but not in my budget right now.

hth,
al

dbfzurowski
12-10-2010, 02:18 PM
Thanks for the link Al, I'm thinking about moving away from point & shoot cameras so that forum will help for sure.

shawnhu
12-14-2010, 03:41 AM
Al,

You've gotta show me how to use my K-x properly.

brewmaster15
12-14-2010, 10:08 AM
Hey Shawn,
Anytime! and if we do that camping trip this summer..it'd be the perfect time!

-al