Sunday, September 20, 2015

The Uninvited Guest

Lurking in a flowerbed, this Praying Mantis captured a big bumblebee in attack from below.
Here she firmly grips the hapless bumblebee in her powerful forelegs (click to enlarge image).
Just as she starts gnawing on a bee leg, a wasp shows up to join in the meal.
She starts back, as if to say, "Waiter, there's a wasp in my bumblebee!"

A second later, she managed to chase the wasp away. The days are dwindling down to a precious few for these mantises. Between now and the first frost, the females will create their egg cases and all the mantises will die.

--Bernice

2 comments:

  1. Are these your photos? Wow! How did you manage to capture this? Just by chance? Have you been watching the mantis for a while?

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    1. I have been watching mantises in my back yard for several years and have documented many of their life stages. Part of it is chance, so I try to have a camera on hand while gardening. Check out this one:

      http://ptalker2.blogspot.com/2011/10/carnage-in-yard.html

      You can also search by putting "mantis" in the box at upper left

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