Try to spot a cryptic mantis on tree bark
Cryptic mantises have unusual leaf-like femoral projections near the joints of their four walking legs.
Cryptic mantises are experts at camouflage and remain almost invisible to predators and prey. They are a small species of praying mantis, only measuring about 6cm in length as an adult.
They are found in Southern Africa and are quite common in the Durban area. These mantises have been spotted in forests at the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve where they live on the bark of trees, taking on the same shade of brown.
ALSO READ: Yellowwood Park mother-daughter duo to get ‘locked-up’ for charity
They are so small and delicate they can easily be mistaken for a cobweb. In fact, if spotted these mantises will often start swaying their body in the wind, just like a loose cobweb.
As nymphs their abdomen looks like a crumpled up dead leaf and as adults they have wings over their abdomen that also look like dead leaf. They have an unusually long and thin prothorax. Like all other praying mantises, the cryptic mantis is carnivorous, feeding mostly on flies.
“I particularly like the small crown on their heads,” said Warren Dick.
Contact Warren to have some of your interesting spiders, snakes or other wildlife identified. Call or WhatsApp him on 072 211 0353. Visit his Facebook page, Warren’s Small World.
DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics. To receive news via our Telegram group, send a WhatsApp message to 084 418 2286.
For more Southlands Sun news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.
