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Chinese Mantis with Prey

Tenodera sinensis

Photo by beaker98
Published on Project Noah
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41.3942, -89.8237

Field Notes

Habitat:

Canal/deciduous habitat.

Notes:

It's been awhile since I posted a spotting. Life certainly gets in the way sometimes. Anyway, while biking today, I noticed that the wooly bear caterpillars (Pyrrharctia isabella) were out everywhere on the canal path. After a bit, I spotted this lovely mantis feeding on an unfortunate individual. I felt bad for the wooly bear, as it was struggling, but the mantis had it locked in an iron grip.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (6)

Thanks again for the kind words kdpicturemaker! I had to laugh at the first one, because it was as if it were daring me take its food away:)
Thanks Aaron, and sorry for the delayed thanks. That's exactly what the mantis did to that poor caterpillar. Amazing to see how they do it up close!
Wow! Super spotting, Bill. It looks like it de-gloved the caterpillar in the 4th image.
Thanks ForestDragon! This is one of my recent favorites. I love how it was daring me to try to take its food in the first one:)

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