Gotcha!

A praying mantis in the act of snatching a fly!

This mantis was in my camera sights and just as I pressed the shutter button I saw in the liquid crystal its upper body suddenly lunge sideways. I glanced up and was astonished to see that it had caught a fly!  I was even more astonished when I downloaded the image and found that I had captured the capture.

I had the speed set too slow and the action is a bit blurred.  The fly was furiously buzzing. Its wings are hardly visible.

The fly did not last long.  A couple of minutes later the mantis let the wings drop and then she spent another minute thoroughly cleaning her face and the two powerful front legs.


Orthodera novaezealandiae