Thanks Stan and Peter - Stan your comments mean a lot to me.
At 180mm, you must've been quite close still, do they stay still even if
interupted while laying, or do you need to sneak up on them? :)
She wasn't about to move (-: Only noticed her at the end of her
oviposition, so I thought that even if she was disturbed the ootheca
should be fine.
You're not the David Nelson from Unreal Pictures by any chance?
Nope!
David
Love, Light and Peace,
- Peter Loveday
Director of Development, eyeon Software
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Nelson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2004 9:49 AM
Subject: PAW - Legacy
Got to witness something that I always think of as quite special - a
mantid ovipositing (that means laying eggs... and an ootheca is an
egg-case)
Like many insects, these things generally exist in the winter only in
the form of eggs tucked away somewhere safe - at this time of year (it's
autumn in Oz remember) the adult female is getting cold, her prey is
scarce, and to ensure the continuation of her species she has to make a
little foamy ootheca before her death. Come spring, ichneumons
permitting, out will come a little regiment of baby mantids, at first
hanging from silk threads, then going out to make their way in the world.
I don't know whether I've managed to express myself well enough, but it
is something that to me is quite touching.
Needless to say, when I saw this one, I got my camera and took some
snaps. It's Orthodera ministralis, the Garden Mantid. These things also
have some pretty spectacular flash/display colouration.
http://davidavid.whatsbeef.net/mantid.jpg
As you can see, it's just finishing up the ootheca, and had scarpered
five minutes later.
*ist D, tamron 90mm/2.5 & 2x TC @ f8, 400ASA, inbuilt flash, af360fgz
off camera, bit of afternoon sunlight.
David
