ID this Mantis please!

Here is a series of shots that I am particularly proud of. This mantis started doing his thing (digging his hole), and I was right there to witness and record the moment. Too bad I am terrible with invert IDs! Leslie? These were taken in Venezuela last month:

Thanks!

P.S.: Leslie, I hope you are feeling better!

Very cool - the best kind of action shots! And extra neat for me because I just learned about this guy last night. It's Lysiosquillina glabriuscula which occurs from South Carolina in the US to Brasil. Good thing you didn't get too close as it's a thumb-splitter. The yellow center spot on each large antennal scale is a good way to recognize it. The back has alternating bands of cream and tan (light) or tan and brown (dark). An incredibly nifty thing about stomatopods is that they fluoresce to signal each other. Human eyes use 3 visual pigments to create color vision. Stomatopods use at least 8 for visual wavelengths & three more for ultraviolet, plus 4 filters to tune the visual pigments & see 2-3 planes of polarized light. You can read more (if you're interested) at http://www.innovations-report.com/html/rep...port-23390.html

Thanks for the good wishes. I've got bronchitis & really hope it clears up before I go off to Costa Rica on the 15th.

Great, thanks!