Mantid Lacewing

[Lumen Miner]

Found this lil' Mantid Lacewing - Family Mantispidae (Thanks David) in the garden. He is about 5mm long and decided to get stuck in a spider web, I decided he deserved a better fate.

The colouring makes it appear almost wasp like.

Thanks for looking.

[DavidU]

I always called them Praying Mantle pieces:lol:
#1 is awesome
It looks like a Wasp

[Lumen Miner]

I think it is the transperant wings.? Don't manti normally have an opaque, wing set? He only has the clear ones like a wasp. I wonder if the colours are just because it is young? I have never seen a brightly striped, yellow and black one before.

[dpastern]

This is NOT a Juvenile mantid, it is a Mantid Lacewing - Family Mantispidae! I've only ever seen one of these, a few years back. I managed 2 images:

http://www.macro-images.com/images/Macro/Insects/Other_insects/slides/F79C8508.html

and

http://www.macro-images.com/images/Macro/Insects/Other_insects/slides/F79C8513.html

Good shots.

Dave

[Lumen Miner]

Oh WoW! Thanks!
Interesting indeed. :)

[dpastern]

No problemo! It's a pretty thing and quite friendly too. I wish I'd gotten more images. You did quite well considering your setup. When you going to get a dedicated macro lens?

Dave

[troypiggo]

Yep, mantis fly. Good work on saving it. They're not that common, so cherish your encounters. :)

Dave - great shots from your archives. I've only seen on once in real life too, got a shot or 2 somewhere here but weren't as good as those.

[Lumen Miner]

I just realised those resizes were horrible. The pics look much better at about 50%. I should resize then upload again.

Hopefully I will get one very soon, probably next pay packet. Would prefer to buy second hand though, so I may have to wait till something turns up. The old 350d with no live view, makes life a little more exciting, to say the least....

[dpastern]

Yeah, Troy, they seem to be uncommon, not quite sure why. That said, I have not seen one single Robberfly @ my parents place. Really frustrating, especially since I was used to seeing 50+ per summer in Sydney...

Mitchell - you've been bitten by the macro bug, it won't take you long to get a macro lens I suspect. It's a very enjoyable hobby. That said, sometimes, it's just nice to watch your subjects rather than image them. Get to learn your subjects - it'll really pay dividends when it comes to imaging imho. I have a bunch of links that I use as reference for identifying etc (as well as a lot of books).

Dave

[Lumen Miner]

Yeah, I am starting to learn that. After studying jumping spiders for a while, you tend to work out where they are going to jump to / move. Making anticipating the next shot easier...