The Nature Photography Thread

[ConcinusMan]

Sorry he passed, it is unfortunate that they are so short lived. We have several every year and they are just delightful.

Not short-lived. Just short-lived as an adult. Which is when a mantis is at it's most impressive.

I've kept them enough times to know that even if you bring an adult mantis in out of the cold, the best you can expect is early November and their life cycle will end no matter how warm you keep them, and no matter how much you feed them.

If I ventured to guess, I'd say this guy hatched sometime in May. 6 months is a pretty long life for an insect.

[radtad]

For a Mantis maybe. My kid has a male hisser that is going on four years old. That is old for an insect by my standards and wish that preying mantis would live longer. Thats all

[guidofatherof5]

Mantis. Very impressive insect.

[ConcinusMan]

For a Mantis maybe. My kid has a male hisser that is going on four years old. That is old for an insect by my standards and wish that preying mantis would live longer. Thats all

Maybe I should clarify. Most insects native to north or south of the equator can be equated to a plant that is considered an "annual". They are born, they grow, they mature, and then they die. Usually within a short period of time- over the course of a summer, for example. Significantly shorter than a year.

Hissing cockroaches can and do live for years. So do certain spiders in my area (I know, not an insect) by living indoors or coming indoors during the cold months.

I had a species of African Mantis that lived for 3 years in my care, but they are from equatorial Africa.

I'm just sayin.... 6 months is pretty good for an insect native to Europe, and pretty good considering the climate here only allows for 3-4 months of frost-free nights.

[ConcinusMan]

[gregmonsta]

That's a very nice moon shot

[ConcinusMan]

So is this...

No. I shouldn't.

[amattel]

Here are a few of my favorites.

[ConcinusMan]

Check this out guys. A white Red-Tailed Hawk in Texas. Amazing!

[Stefan-A]

the only rule (at the moment) is that the pictures you post are your own.

Ahem.