Color of Empusa pennata

[pohchunyee]

I saw this classified threat and I was facinated by the color of this specie. I was wondering if the color is real or photoshop?

 

[ABbuggin]

It's real.

 

[jarek]

I would sell my soul to a devil just to have mantis like that

 

[dino2]

... i would sell 50 bucks out of my wallet to own a mantis like that ^^

 

[ABbuggin]

... i would sell 50 bucks out of my wallet to own a mantis like that ^^

Well I have 8 coming.

 

[batsofchaos]

Don't hold me to this because it was just some quick googling, but it looks like this striking coloring isn't terribly common with the species; most pics I found were shades of ruddy green and brown. I did find some that were this bright green and pink, but most weren't. I didn't find a lot of info, though, so it might be that these colors only show up after a certain instar, or are only present in females. Can someone with more experience concerning this species shed some light on this?

 

[yen_saw]

Amazing pics!!

It is very much depending on the lighting. i found them more colorful during nymph stages, they can have many different colors but mainly green and brown. The color pattern is amazing though. Photo shop can definitely brings out more colorful side of the insect.

Here is the one I kept a while ago... no photo shop or SLR camera involved but it is Empusa fasciata.

 

[AmandaLynn]

They are an awsome looking mantis. I love their antennae!

 

[planetq]

Freakin Gorgeous.

 

[pohchunyee]

I would sell my soul to a devil just to have mantis like that

There is someone who sell this in the Classified. Plus, he is from Wales!!! Very near to you!

... i would sell 50 bucks out of my wallet to own a mantis like that ^^

Go get it... someone is selling on the Classified, too bad is in Leeds, UK... or I would get it myself!

 

[PhilinYuma]

C'mon, guys! Look at the background; look at the pink highlights in the gray twig! It looks to me as though someone simply moved the slider toward red. I may be wrong, but if this was the case and the nymphs are for sale, it smacks of false advertising to me. I think that Yen was saying the same thing in his polite and diplomatic way, when he said, "Photo shop can definitely brings out more colorful side of the insect."

 

[batsofchaos]

I want to extrapolate on my previous comment regarding finding pictures of other mantids that were colored this way. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Phil is correct and these pictures have been manipulated in some way, and the pictures I'm linking to may have had the same thing done to them, but they're less suspicious-looking in my opinion.

(Please note: these are not my pictures and I don't claim ownership of them, they are from the website http://www.phasmes.com/ and I am only going to link to them in respect for their ownership and bandwidth)

http://www.phasmes.com/images/mantes/Empus...a_pennata_1.jpg

http://www.phasmes.com/images/mantes/Empus...a_pennata_2.jpg

These were the only others I found that had this coloring, most others had coloring similar to Yen's. I'm not sure what the full story on all this is.

 

[Christian]

As I mentioned in the other thread, this color is typical for some WC specimens. I bred E. pennata for 2 1/2 generations and never had a color like this under artificial light. It occurs, though, in the natural habitat. I don't know how much the color was enhanced by Photoshop, but there are definitely nymphs with pinkish, yellowish or reddish tinges - but not under captive conditions. It is the same with pics of WC Pseudocreobotra or Harpagomantis: you almost never get the reddish tinge observed in some WC specimens on your captive ones, except with a completely red enclosure. This doesn't work as well in Empusa.

 

[a1_collection]

That is one beautiful mantid. :blink:

 

[jarek]

There is someone who sell this in the Classified. Plus, he is from Wales!!! Very near to you!

Yeah I already secured the deal