Friday, September 25, 2009

"Don't Bite My Head Off" - Praying Mantis to the Mrs.

I thought this crazy looking critter would be just the one to welcome you to Tang's Photo Memories Blog Hope. I found her lying in wait for insects in a cinquefoil bush just outside our offices.

I think she might be an unlikely European Mantid because of the dark spot under her foreleg where it meets her body, but I'm not sure, because there is supposed to be a white spot in the middle of the dark spot. It might be missing because she is young. I know she is young because her wings are barely developed. If she's not European, she is the more likely Chinese Mantid. Maybe you can tell me for sure which she is. I do know she is a she because I counted eight segments on her abdomen, whereas the smaller male has only six, plus she has two cerci at the end of her abdomen for inserting eggs.

Most people would call her a Praying Mantis, because of the position she holds her forelegs in. Other people think of her as a Preying Mantis because of the way she preys on insects, including her mate sometimes if he hangs around too long after fertilizing her eggs. She sits incredibly still until an insect approaches, then unfolds those clamp-line forelegs in the blink of an eye to grab her prey. Then she bites its head off.

The name of the blog, and of the company, is a pun-filled tribute to a late great comedian and his famous theme song. Try singing the name of my company, pausing after Tang's.

Jerry Tang