Woman Shares Photos Of The Beautiful “Flower Mantis” She Found In Her Garden
Even though there are numerous fascinating bugs and insects out there in nature, most of us still see them as creepy and icky creatures that we’d rather have nothing to do with. But not South African woman Margaret Neville – she recently stumbled upon a beautiful Flower Mantis and just had to share some pictures.
The woman found the majestic flower mantis, formally known as Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi, in her garden and shared some photos to the Waterfall Retreat & Environmental Centre Facebook group where they received over 32 k likes and 58 k shares. Not only that, Margaret also nicknamed the mantis Miss Frilly Pants and the name couldn’t be more suiting.
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South African woman Margaret Neville found a majestic Flower Mantis living in her garden
Image credits: waterfallretreat
According to the group, flower mantis’ unique camouflage allows them to hide in purple and rose pelargonium and they love hunting the unsuspecting bees that happen to visit the flowers they’re hiding in.
The woman nicknamed it Miss Frilly Pants
Image credits: waterfallretreat
In a recent interview with The Dodo, the woman said she was instantly amazed by the mantis and added that she spent the entire September living on her lavender.
The flower mantis loves to hunt bees that stumble into the flowers they’re hiding in
Image credits: waterfallretreat
Miss Frilly Pants spent the entire September living on Margaret’s lavender
Image credits: waterfallretreat
It even ended up attracting a suitor!
Image credits: waterfallretreat
In case you were wondering, Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi actually make pretty good pets. They typically live in temperatures between 25 °C to 30 °C (77 °F to 86 °F) and strive when the humidity is about 60% – although they’re very susceptible to fungal infections. The flower mantis’ can be fed moths and flies but will eat almost anything that is the correct size, including its own species.
Waterfall Retreat & Environmental Centre even shared a video of the mantis in action
Image credits: waterfallretreat
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