Ms. Mantis Missed!
Yesterday we introduced you to Ms. Mantis, a young Stagmomantis limbata perched on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundiola. She was seeking a “fast food” meal of a bee or a butterfly, but they were much too fast for her.
Today we observed her on a different blossom, ready to try again. She stretched out in the sun, her abdomen curled up like a scorpion’s tail. She was looking sideways, so she not see the longhorned bee, perhaps a Melissodes agilis, that touched down a few centimeters from her.
Me: “Hey, Ms. Mantis! You’re looking the wrong way.” (Normally I don’t tell a mantis what to do, but this one looked confused.)
Ms. Mantis: “Huh? Oh, a bee, my happy meal. Let's see...I shall pounce, grab her with my spiked forelegs, and proceed with my mission. Whee! Let's do this!"
Ms. Mantis tried. She really did. But she missed Ms. Melissodes. She flunked “How to Catch a Bee 101.”
The startled Ms. Melissodes flew away. Ms. Mantis reared, as if looking for another attempt, but her "attempt" was gone.
Score: Bee: 1, Mantis. 0.
Me: “Ms. Mantis, have you ever given any thought to...umm….becoming a vegetarian?”
Ms. Mantis scowled. I think I insulted her.