Aug 27, 2010
If I were in charge, the praying mantis would eat only aphids, flies and stink bugs.
No honey bees. Let them bee.
This week we watched a praying mantis slide beneath a purple coneflower (Echinacea pupurea) at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility of University of California, Davis.
Its body camouflaged, the mantid looked like one of the coneflower petals.
Not!
Within minutes, it seized an unsuspecting honey bee.
Death beneath the purple coneflower.
No honey bees. Let them bee.
This week we watched a praying mantis slide beneath a purple coneflower (Echinacea pupurea) at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility of University of California, Davis.
Its body camouflaged, the mantid looked like one of the coneflower petals.
Not!
Within minutes, it seized an unsuspecting honey bee.
Death beneath the purple coneflower.
Attached Images:
Camouflaged
Honey Bee
Close-Up