A New Generation

Praying mantis nymph, Orthodera novaezealandiae. Body length 6mm.

Back in the winter I was intrigued to find a couple of praying mantis females on the big Viburnum bush. I had not seen a praying mantis in winter before. One was fairly easy to find each day because she kept to a smallish area. I blipped her eating a fly in June, and looking rather cute in July. She disappeared soon after that and in her place she left a new nursery case.

I kept an eye on the nursery because it was attached to a leaf. They are usually attached to a fence post or other solid object. Eventually the leaf fell, but the mother had anchored her nursery to a twig so that it didn't fall too. Today when I checked on it I found nymphs emerging. I didn't actually see them coming out. They seemed to be catapulted out faster than my eye could see and they suddenly appeared on a nearby leaf. From there they scuttled behind the leaf and vanished. I could see the few cells that had been vacated.

Later I went out to take another look. Several were out on the leaves in the sunshine, very still, with their front legs folded in the praying position, waiting for prey to come within reach. I try not to disturb creatures that I photograph, but I failed with this one. The antennae and eyes should be pointing forward, but as soon as I saw the antennae flip backwards I knew I'd been spotted. Look at the eyes!

The mother looking cute

The mother eating a fly