The MGS Forum
Gardening in mediterranean climates => Wildlife in the garden (birds, butterflies, and how to attract them) => Topic started by: pamela on September 22, 2011, 08:51:37 AM
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I haven't seen any Praying Mantis this year yet and also we are devoid of the exquisite blue and green dragonflies which we normally see here (except for very small one yesterday). I wonder if that is the same for everyone because of this very dry summer we are having in the Mediterranean
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Oh, I have just seen Daisy's post.....plenty of Dragonflies in other parts of the Med!
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I did see a preying mantis trying to maneuver among my plants some days ago, I was fascinated by the way it was moving, throwing out one front leg at the time, seemingly without being able to see anything, but trying to find someting to hold on to, then repeting these movements.
We rarely see dragonflies here, but I actually saw two a few days ago, before the heavy rain started. I have actually only seen them once before, that was several years ago, and it was in the middle of the summer, when they suddenly arrived in an enormous swarm, thousand of them hit the southern wall of our house and covered it completely, it was almost as if we had been hit by one of the plagues of Egypt. They stayed there for some hours, then suddely lifted and flew off straight north. I asked aound here, nobody had any idea what dragonflies were and they had never seen them before.
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The praying mantids we have had in the garden this year have mostly been small, to the point of tiny; they were all the bright green ones (probably Mantis religiosa), or nymphs thereof.
I guess our numerous Agama lizards (Laudakia stellio), skinks (mainly Trachylepis vittata, I think), and Cyprus and sardinian warblers (Sylvia melanothorax, S. melanocephala) et al. intercept many of the little ones before they get to full size.
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Mantis religiosa (European mantis), now adult (versus nymphs mentioned previously), in my garden; pale brown form.
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This year, I saw mantis religiosa and a few of dragonflies, ...and a lot of insects in the garden. I send 2 photos, but the photo of the mantis is made in 2010.
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What a lot of character you have captured in those two insects, Michel: congratulations!
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Michel,
Your photo of the green Mantis religiosa is very interesting.
I notice the coxal spot is blue (the one on my specimen was white, ringed in black). But that blue colour is repeated on the femur and tibia as well, such that a slightly larger blue spot is formed when the femur and tibia are pulled-in. And, considering both limbs, forming a larger single spot or a pair of spots. That makes me think the spot(s) might serve to focus the attention of prey, perhaps luring it into the mantid's strike zone.
There is a slight analogy with the eye spots on the underside of the wings of Morpho (and other) butterflies; those ones serving to divert the attention of birds away from the body and/or to acts as a surprise-owl deterrent when flashed (see http://www.obsessionwithbutterflies.com/img/butterfly/Owl%20Butterfly2.jpg (http://www.obsessionwithbutterflies.com/img/butterfly/Owl%20Butterfly2.jpg)).
I wonder how unusual the blue spot is?
Usually, it is white ringed in black, as can be seen on green one in the photo part-way down this page - http://mantisencyclopedia.blogspot.com (http://mantisencyclopedia.blogspot.com).
Maybe the 'white with black ring' spot is indeed trying to mimic an eye?