Praying mantis

The Praying mantis

Found in most warm countries is the praying mantis. From Spain to Borneo.
never found one in the UK however In Greece, and other warm to hot countries, I have.

An insect of wonder, And character, they seem quite tame and at home, Once you find one, they will stay with you, inquisitive, And even pose for you.

they will happily sit and look around, clean themselves , As soon as they know your not a threat.

At times, You can give them some water and a fly to eat, As you spend time photographing the,

I have yet to get a good focus stack on one, However , For the time they stay still, A long exposure of Flash can be used, Do not do too much fash. or stress may kill it.

You can even get them to drink water from your finger tip. Wow! What an amazing creature.

They turn their head 190 degrees . Sadly they have a down side, when mating.

If the mail does not get out the way fast enough, Like the Black widow spider, He will land up Lunch.
Even when still bonded to the female. the female will start to eat him. his body will still continue to produce sperm to the bitter end. Well Beyond.

Here are some of the photographs i managed to take,. most photographed and released, Some fly into the home with antennae  missing and die , I guess from old age. Or some reason cannot establish where food is.    
One of the most spectacular praying mantis i have yet to find, is the Orchid mantis.

Taken with 400D 60mm macro 2.8 

And a 7D