COBRA MANTIS!!! (photos & video)

Precarious · Aug 12, 2011

Can someone help identify this species?

From Indonesia, a Rhombodera species (?) with a large Pronotum like a Choeradodis.

Adult females are over 5" with a red body. (That turned out to be hype. She is 3.6" as adult.)

This is a subadult female.

(Updated photos HERE.)

You can see her making good use of her grooming bristles in the video.

She moistens them, rubs them on her, then cleans them with her mouth.

Music by Precarious :walkman:

Precarious · Aug 12, 2011

psyconiko · Aug 12, 2011

So nice!

It looks a little like Rhombodera stalii..apple green and pink.I am not sure!

It is beautiful!

Precarious · Aug 12, 2011

Nikkko said:
So nice!

It looks a little like Rhombodera stalii..apple green and pink.I am not sure!

It is beautiful!

Thanks!

Definitely larger shield than Rhombodera stalii, but overall they are a close match. Must be some variation of Rhombodera.

patrickfraser · Aug 12, 2011

OMG! Absolutely stunning. Both the mantis AND the photography. I want, I want, I want.

Precarious · Aug 12, 2011

Yen suggests Rhombodera valida or more likely Rhombodera basalis.

I can only find photos of adult Rhombodera basalis and they look somewhat different. Shield not quite as wide and no color change toward the edges of the underside of the shield. I guess I'll have to wait for adults to make a call on it.

Igor Siwanowicz' Rhombodera basalis

patrickfraser said:
OMG! Absolutely stunning. Both the mantis AND the photography. I want, I want, I want.

Thanks! Some of my best photos so far, me thinx.

I'm working on getting these to adult so I can breed them. You may get your wish.

Idolofreak · Aug 12, 2011

Pretty mantis! Yeah, they should be easier to figure out once they have their wings. Nice close-ups on those bristles!

kitkat39 · Aug 12, 2011

That's a very nice looking shield, even at sub adult

ReDSnoW · Aug 12, 2011

For me she is a Rhombodera basalis.

I saw the Mantis often times and so i think i can say this wonderful mantis is a Rhombodera basalis.

Greets

yen_saw · Aug 12, 2011

Precarious said:
Yen suggests Rhombodera valida or more likely Rhombodera basalis.

I can only find photos of adult Rhombodera basalis and they look somewhat different. Shield not quite as wide and no color change toward the edges of the underside of the shield. I guess I'll have to wait for adults to make a call on it.

I think it was the other way around in my email to you

From observation both Rh. valida and Rh. basalis has wider shield than Rh. stalli. Rh. valida shield is always consistantly rounder than Rh. basalis, while Rh. basalis has blue hue wings but Rh. valida is always bright green. However, my observation serves no purpose when it comes to taxonomy, just a personal experience.Also, the mantis in Igor's picture is likely Rh. stalli instead.

Precarious · Aug 12, 2011

yen_saw said:
I think it was the other way around in my email to you From observation both Rh. valida and Rh. basalis has wider shield than Rh. stalli. Rh. valida shield is always consistantly rounder than Rh. basalis, while Rh. basalis has blue hue wings but Rh. valida is always bright green. However, my observation serves no purpose when it comes to taxonomy, just a personal experience.

Also, the mantis in Igor's picture is likely Rh. stalli instead.

Haha! Igor must be confused then too (as well as Lars from mantisanddragons.com). His photo is labeled as Rhombodera basalis. No wonder. Species must commonly be mixed up if they only show minimal differences. Thanks Yen!

twolfe · Aug 12, 2011

I want too!!

Beautiful images of a beautiful mantis. You had only shared one image with me, and I said that was probably your best. This series is definitely your best! The photos of the mantis eating are extremely sharp. The last pose of her eating is my favorite. You know I love Igor's work, and these are as good as his! Your lucky you found a site where he labeled his images. He often doesn't identify the species on some sites.

I know you are looking for help identifying this species and not feedback....My preference is to usually clone out one of the double flash created catch lights, but I've seen photos published with two. So, I guess that's a personal preference.

I sure hope you can breed this species. Looks like you'd have no trouble selling them. And you should be able to sell these images, too. Maybe we'll get to see that last one published some day. I wish it were mine!

Tammy

Precarious · Aug 12, 2011

Tammy Wolfe said:
I want too!!

Beautiful images of a beautiful mantis. You had only shared one image with me, and I said that was probably your best. This series is definitely your best! The photos of the mantis eating are extremely sharp. The last pose of her eating is my favorite. You know I love Igor's work, and these are as good as his! Your lucky you found a site where he labeled his images. He often doesn't identify the species on some sites.

I know you are looking for help identifying this species and not feedback....My preference is to usually clone out one of the double flash created catch lights, but I've seen photos published with two. So, I guess that's a personal preference.

I sure hope you can breed this species. Looks like you'd have no trouble selling them. And you should be able to sell these images, too. Maybe we'll get to see that last one published some day. I wish it were mine!

Tammy

Wow! Thanks! That's high praise...

I'm always looking for feedback. Hmmm... I hadn't considered removing the flash reflections but I could easily do that. I kind of like that you can see the individual lenses of the compound eye within the flash though. I'll experiment next time and see how it looks. Thanks for the tips!

I have a pretty systematic approach in Photoshop. Found the right combination of tweaks in the order that works best for me. Really seems to bring out all the details. I'll fill you in if you're interested. Not sure if it would work with RAW images. I've yet to shoot in RAW. I guess I'm at the point where it begins to make sense for me to try RAW. Before I was compiling multiple shots into a single image. Doesn't make sense to use RAW for that. All of these except for one are single photos. I don't know what I'm doing different or if it's the lens since being repaired but I haven't had to do as much focus stacking. I think it's because this is a big mantis and I'm not zoomed in as close as I normally am. Yeah, that's probably it. OK, I'll stop talking to myself now...

twolfe · Aug 12, 2011

Precarious, I only shoot RAW when I'm doing serious shooting with one of my pro bodies. I've been carrying around a Canon G11 for family snapshots because I never seem to get caught up processing images. I still encourage you to try RAW. I lost a sale early on because I was only shooting jpeg. That was in the mid 90s. Your Big Backyard (a National Wildlife Federation publication) and other magazines have asked me to send them the RAW image.

I've found it much easier and less frustrating to photograph the larger mantis.

Precarious · Aug 12, 2011

UPDATE:

A friend with the same species from the same source says this is definitely not Rhombodera basal / valida / stalii. He will be sending me the species name when he can get at his notes so probably later tonight.

dragon · Aug 14, 2011

Gorgeous pics of a beautiful mantis, Precarious!

RevWillie · Aug 14, 2011

FWIW I always shoot RAW+jpeg so I have jpegs for quick viewing&culling, and RAW for tweaking the best stuff. RAW has saved my bacon many times and the ability to go -2 to +2, white balance and other tweaks is a lifesaver. I have a Canon G-9 that is beat up but still functional and I'll only replace it with something that can also do RAW (like my slrs).

On Topic:

Gorgeous mantis and award-winning photography!!! What more can I say, but

Precarious · Aug 14, 2011

RevWillie said:
FWIW I always shoot RAW+jpeg so I have jpegs for quick viewing&culling, and RAW for tweaking the best stuff. RAW has saved my bacon many times and the ability to go -2 to +2, white balance and other tweaks is a lifesaver. I have a Canon G-9 that is beat up but still functional and I'll only replace it with something that can also do RAW (like my slrs).

On Topic:

Gorgeous mantis and award-winning photography!!! What more can I say, but

Award-winning photography?!?! Someone forgot to give me my award. :angry:

Yum, bacon... :tt1:

Peer pressure! I feel so oppressed... :mellow:

But seriously, I started using RAW yesterday. Took a walk in the woods and I'm very impressed with the results. I'm still fumbling my way through the new format so these may be a little overcooked (like extra crispy yummy bacon) but...

Anyone know what this little freakazoid is???

Looks like RAW requires some sharpening, which I'm not used to but I'll figure it all out. I'll be reading up on RAW technique for the next couple days (at least). :blink:

guapoalto049 · Aug 15, 2011

Rhombodera fratricida are huge aren't they? How big is she at subadult?

COBRA MANTIS!!! (photos & video)

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