cloud jaguar
Well-known member
This season my wife and I have found 5 S. Limbatas (Arizona Bordered Mantis) in the area of our Southern California home. Initially we mistakenly thought these S. Limbatas to be S. Californica... thanks to Hypoponera for clearing up that S. Limbatas have lemon yellow and clear flecked wings, whereas S. Californica has wings that transition from black through orange.
Well, we were beginning to think that only S. Limbatas existed around here. Lately we have been doing a lot of hiking looking for mantids. An aunt of mine told us yesterday about a mantid hot spot in a wash adjacent to a local dam. We went to check it out yesterday. No dice, although, we did find a cool passion fruit cutting.
Anyways, this evening, I was observing 5 hummingbirds jostle for some nectar from a large Mexican Sage bush we have in the front yard. Mexican sage has tall lupine like blooms of purple and white. I had checked that plant several times in the past looking for a mantid in vain. As i looked at the hummingbirds i scanned the bush for ootheca, when I saw the telltale plump bud shaped butt of of a Stagmomantis! We have only caught and seen stagmomantis on flowers: Roses, Zinnias and now, Mexican Sage.
This mantid is absolutely beautiful looking. Smoky look about it (like Popa Spurca) - burnt tree phase (what is that called?), perfectly camoflaged with black and whitish lavender gray tone - with hints of brown on its legs. It was totally invisible in the sage. It is approximately the same size as the average S. Limbata but its proportions seem a bit different. Its eyes seem to be slightly more bulbuous, yet its face seems a bit smaller. There is a small dimple between it eyes and mouth - like a little cro-magnon brow. Its hind quarters are somewhat less broad that S. Limbata. While not nearly as fat as our oothing S. Limbatas, this one is a bit plump. Not super interested in tasting honey and just likes sipping some insect guts but didn't even bother to grab a cricket from forceps. Very mellow demeanor. Has wings that appear all black from what i can see -- presumably they fade to bright orange if it is an S. California as I am 99% sure she is. Will try to take some pics in the next couple of days.
Perhaps S. Californica is not too rare, I don't know, but I do not think it is in culture and I definitely have never seen one before. We will fatten her up and keep her warm. Hopefully this beauty lays an ooth!
~Arkanis
Well, we were beginning to think that only S. Limbatas existed around here. Lately we have been doing a lot of hiking looking for mantids. An aunt of mine told us yesterday about a mantid hot spot in a wash adjacent to a local dam. We went to check it out yesterday. No dice, although, we did find a cool passion fruit cutting.
Anyways, this evening, I was observing 5 hummingbirds jostle for some nectar from a large Mexican Sage bush we have in the front yard. Mexican sage has tall lupine like blooms of purple and white. I had checked that plant several times in the past looking for a mantid in vain. As i looked at the hummingbirds i scanned the bush for ootheca, when I saw the telltale plump bud shaped butt of of a Stagmomantis! We have only caught and seen stagmomantis on flowers: Roses, Zinnias and now, Mexican Sage.
This mantid is absolutely beautiful looking. Smoky look about it (like Popa Spurca) - burnt tree phase (what is that called?), perfectly camoflaged with black and whitish lavender gray tone - with hints of brown on its legs. It was totally invisible in the sage. It is approximately the same size as the average S. Limbata but its proportions seem a bit different. Its eyes seem to be slightly more bulbuous, yet its face seems a bit smaller. There is a small dimple between it eyes and mouth - like a little cro-magnon brow. Its hind quarters are somewhat less broad that S. Limbata. While not nearly as fat as our oothing S. Limbatas, this one is a bit plump. Not super interested in tasting honey and just likes sipping some insect guts but didn't even bother to grab a cricket from forceps. Very mellow demeanor. Has wings that appear all black from what i can see -- presumably they fade to bright orange if it is an S. California as I am 99% sure she is. Will try to take some pics in the next couple of days.
Perhaps S. Californica is not too rare, I don't know, but I do not think it is in culture and I definitely have never seen one before. We will fatten her up and keep her warm. Hopefully this beauty lays an ooth!
~Arkanis
