This is a female Devil's Flower Mantis. Like the name implies, they disguise themselves as colorful flowers when they're adults. There is quite a bit of sexual dimorphism in this species and the males actually look quite pale and small compared to the females, the males even have feathery antennae.
When these mantises are newborn, they look very similar to black ants. When they get older, they camouflage themselves as crumpled, dead leaves. Like many other mantises, adults use a threat display to ward off predators, they reveal bright, startling colors that are hidden by their posture.
Mantis are funny in that despite being aggressive predators and having a fearsome appearance they are usually quite docile to pick up. They seem perfectly content to perch on a hand hanging out for awhile, their little head always swiveling around to track anything that moves. They also seem to stick to areas for awhile, I've released many onto a bush/tree with a "good luck little buddy!" only to see them somewhere on same bush a couple days later.
snozzzy on March 8th, 2018 at 14:47 UTC »
Nah, this is obviously a screenshot from Starship Troopers.
Vox-Triarii on March 8th, 2018 at 14:57 UTC »
This is a female Devil's Flower Mantis. Like the name implies, they disguise themselves as colorful flowers when they're adults. There is quite a bit of sexual dimorphism in this species and the males actually look quite pale and small compared to the females, the males even have feathery antennae.
When these mantises are newborn, they look very similar to black ants. When they get older, they camouflage themselves as crumpled, dead leaves. Like many other mantises, adults use a threat display to ward off predators, they reveal bright, startling colors that are hidden by their posture.
BillyBetty on March 8th, 2018 at 15:20 UTC »
Mantis are funny in that despite being aggressive predators and having a fearsome appearance they are usually quite docile to pick up. They seem perfectly content to perch on a hand hanging out for awhile, their little head always swiveling around to track anything that moves. They also seem to stick to areas for awhile, I've released many onto a bush/tree with a "good luck little buddy!" only to see them somewhere on same bush a couple days later.