I had my cool shower in the pool and was almost going off to bed when my dad, who was on the sitout infront of the house, asked me to go to him. He told me that he found a bigger mantis a few minutes ago. I asked him where, what colour it was, and was it moving, and why he didn't tell me earlier. The reply was, "Look infront of you, son." I looked infront. A Rose Plant. But not just a Rose Plant. A large creature inhabiting it. A large Mantis. "Awesome!" was what came out of my mouth after having spotted it. I started to take a few photographs of it as it slowly walked through the leaves.
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It soon moved about to another plant after noticing the presence of me.
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Soon my dad said something again. "If you look carefully, you should be able to see something else on this plant itself." I looked. It took me quite a long time to notice a big Stick Insect on the other side! I have to admit that my dad is a very good spotter of these camouflaged creatures. I spend my next few minutes photographing the stick insect. Lucky for me, none of these creatures tried to escape upon seeing me.
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As I looked at these two similar looking insects, a great change felt through me as I remebered how different these two creatures are. the Mantis, a ferocious killer, that will kill and eat almost anything, including its mate. The Walking Stick, a timid and gentle insect that is totally herbivorous and never attacks other animals. I knew that it would be THE END for the Stick Insect if the Mantis were to find it. Well the mantis began to move around and hence I started to take more shots.
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I was obviously more interested in the Mantis than the Stick Insect as it was bigger and active, while the Stick Insect was just sitting there motionlessly. The Mantis was my favourite insect too, but that did not stop me from being interested in the other. My dad started to complain saying that I was taking too many pictures and that he would confiscate my camera if I don't stop within 10 minutes. I hardly heard what he said as I photographed the Stick Insect.
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It was turning rather dark and I knew that it was time for bed. But these insects? I didn't want any of them to get hurt. Well the Mantis has less chance of being hurt, but the Stick Insect could be spotted by the Mantis and killed and eaten. I didn't want that to happen, so I moved the Mantis and Stick Insect away to different plants. I first moved the Mantis to a nearby plant infront of the stream. I took a number of photographs as it explored its new home.
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I really like this picture of the mantis with its front legs both spread out, gripping the leaf as it moved.
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I came back and got the Walking Stick onto my hand for transporting it to another area. I thought of the plants on the side where the pool was. I got it there safely, and let it hide under the tiny leaves.
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What an awesome day! Crabs, Frogs and 2 Stick Insects in the morning, Strange Lizards in the afternoon, and what about the night?
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A Large Praying Mantis.
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A Large Stick Insect.
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Although I found no snakes that day, it was the best day of hunting in my life. Can you imagine finding so many creatures in a single day?
4 comments:
hey shawn, what great finds. i've not seen a green stick insect before.
Hi Shirls,
So there is at least a person who reads my blog. I actually thought that my blog is a dead one that hardly anyone knows about.
Anyway, yes, even I found these two insects as awesome finds. Never have I managed to photograph such big mantises or stick insects. I'd never ever seen such a big stick insect either.
Well in total I've seen 3 green and a brown stick insect. all were very small, like about 5cm, except this one, which was about 15cm.
Well these creatures should be easily found in such places as it is very far from human habitation, and next to forested mountains.
Hi Shirls,
So there is at least a person who reads my blog. I actually thought that my blog is a dead one that hardly anyone knows about.
Anyway, yes, even I found these two insects as awesome finds. Never have I managed to photograph such big mantises or stick insects. I'd never ever seen such a big stick insect either.
Well in total I've seen 3 green and a brown stick insect. all were very small, like about 5cm, except this one, which was about 15cm.
Well these creatures should be easily found in such places as it is very far from human habitation, and next to forested mountains.
Hi Shawn,
I've handled both the mantis n the stick insect in the wild before. As a child I use to see them in the house (my home now) but these days they are harder to find that I get excited when I see them.
I planning a trip to India in a couple of months time. Ranthambore is on my itinerary.
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