Photo: Margaret Neville
In the
backyard of her house a flower mantis, a species of praying mantis that has
evolved to seem extraordinarily "floral" as a form of concealment was
resting amid her lavender plants. Neville discovered a female flower mantis
with a huge swirl design on her back and protrusions that like lavender
blossoms around her legs. Neville was so taken with the insect's beauty that he
christened her "Miss Frilly Pants," after her purple
"pantaloons."
Neville
explains to the website "Nature is available for us all to share."
Miss Frilly Pants has amassed a large following since announcing her finding.
Miss Frilly Pants' photos and film may also be found on the Waterfall Retreat
& Environmental Centre's Facebook page. The website stated in late
September that the rare mantis had found a mate—a male flower mantis.
Photo: Margaret Neville
There are
numerous different species of mantis found all over the world. Another form of
floral mantis is the orchid praying mantis. Females are bigger and more
brilliantly colored with legs that resemble orchid petals. They are fooled by
their flower look and wait for insects to approach them. Males, on the other
hand, have not acquired flowery camouflage. They're petite and have drab hues.
Males must hunt rather than lie in wait, whereas females' beauty is a colorful
trap. This disparity in gendered hunting techniques and its impact on evolution
according to evolutionary biologists is unique among arthropods (spiders and
insects).
For a
flower mantis, the lyrical name "Miss Frilly Pants" is appropriate.
The "Wandering Violin Mantis," "Arizona Unicorn Mantis,"
and "Devils Flower Mantis" are some of the other mantis species with
creative names. Miss Frilly Pants and her sister mantis species are
unmistakably as funny as their names suggest.
Margaret
Neville found a South African flower mantis fitting in with a lavender shrub in
her yard and named the beautiful bug Miss Frilly Pants.
Photo: Margaret Neville
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