Baby Mantis 1 - D700, 85mm PC
Every year now for the last four years we have had a preying mantis lay an egg sack in the scotch broom and in almost the same spot. This year my wife was checking the egg sack to see if they hatched yet and there they were streaming out of the egg sack. Pure luck, I grabbed the camera and started trying to get some shots…well they are REALLY small, see the next shot for some scale. Trying to find these guys in the broom now is quite a task. They come out of the egg sack a bright yellow and change to a light brown in about an hour or so. I saw one the other day and it was about an inch long and green so they must be eating well.
Baby Mantis 2 - D700, 85mm PC
Baby Mantis 2, 100% - D700, 85mm PC
Here’s an overall shot of the shrub with mini mantis everywhere, all the slightly yellow blotches are baby mantis…shot with my Lensbaby Composer because it’s what was on the camera when the hatch started, I changed lenses later but they had already dissipated in the scotch broom by then.
Click to view a little larger…
Baby Mantis 3 - Lensbaby Composer, Sweet 35