Mantid pics

[rlechols]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd share some pics I took today:

L4 Ghost eating a D. Melangastor fruit fly: (you can see the fly's red eyes)

More L4 Ghost pics:

Close up of D. Melangastor fly:

H. Grandis male (sub-sub adult):

 

[OGIGA]

Awesome pictures! I didn't know fruit flies look like that. Now I'm going to borrow my housemate's camera!

 

[AntiSocial______]

nice pics.... How long do ghosts usually live?

 

[Ian]

Oh those photos are awesome. I do love the close up of the Drosophila, wasn't aware they had red eyes!

What camera are you using?

 

[OGIGA]

I totally thought that was a professional camera. It's a Canon PowerShot S3 IS. Very nice!

 

[rlechols]

Thanks for the compliments on the pics--yes, my camera is the Canon S3 IS--a good substitute for an SLR. The pics were taken with the Raynox DCR 250 macro lens attached. It has taken some practice to learn how to use it, and I'm still figuring it out. I take a lot of pics and usually get 1/4 of them that turn out good. The camera has 12x zoom, so when you put the macro lens on, you can really zoom in on something very small, like a fly.

I'm not sure how long ghosts live. I originally had 5; 4 males and one female. The males have died, but the female is still doing well. She has laid 5 ooths. Here are two pictures of her:

 

[padkison]

Your female looks great. It sort of looks like she's got one of those 50s beehive hairdoos.

 

[Isis]

My females had laid about 15 ooths (!) before they died. I still have one in good shape, I think she has more than 6 months from the last molt (13months from hatching)... I say it is a pretty good age for a mantis.

 

[Insect Guy]

Those are nice looking ghosts. I really think that this is one of the coolest looking species.

 

[wuwu]

she's is so beautiful! i love green ghosts. btw, has anyone ever had a green male? i've only seen green females.

 

[Rick]

Great pics!