Liturgusa maya found!

[PrayingMantisPets]

Hello everyone. I have managed to find and capture 30 Liturgusa maya nymphs in south florida. a non native species

I read a report about sighting of this mantis at a local area to me. I spent two days looking and today i found them. I met a photographer earlier in the trail. He was looking for mammals and reptiles. We exchanged info and I told him i was looking for a species of mantis.

Further down the trail I scanned my hand close to a wooden fence and noticed a very small insect skid off with a very fast speed. smaller than a grain of rice.At a closer glance i found a i1 Liturgusa maya.

I immediately contacted the photographer and he ran to his car to grab a macro lens. here is one of the pictures he took

 

[PrayingMantisPets]

 

[PrayingMantisPets]

at a closer glance i found many nymphs. and then i saw the ootheca.

Who know how long ago it could have hatched?
could have been this morning. the nymphs were less than a foot away.

I then found a few larger nymphs. possibly i3/i4.

 

[_anthonyj0hn]

Wow what a cool looking mantis I’m so amazed! Good job! It’s such a beautiful species. Is it some type of bark mantis?

 

[PrayingMantisPets]

Wow what a cool looking mantis I’m so amazed! Good job! It’s such a beautiful species. Is it some type of bark mantis?

yes it is a bark/moss species from South America.