Brushoff

A lovely warm day and all five mantises in the greenhouse put in an appearance. The female I rescued has grown so fat, I haven’t seen one so big before. The solitary male must have thought he was on to a good thing, but his hopes (and mine) were dashed. She was having none of it.

He approached her in a deferential manner, with his front legs spread wide. I don’t think he could strike with them in that position, so he was showing her he meant no harm. She, on the other hand, kept hers in striking position and made use of them. I was surprised at how nimble she was, racing down the stem, forcing him to back off. While he kept his legs wide she repeatedly jabbed at him so fast I didn’t manage to capture the movement with multiple bursts. She menaced him with her antennae. Eventually he sidled off behind the big leaf. She followed a bit to make sure he kept going.

My apologies to all who are bored by my mantis blips. This is the first time I have had a group in semi-captivity like this and I’m fascinated with their behaviour. An end is in sight. They’ll all be dead soon, when the winter sets in.