Colorful Mantis Discovered In South African Garden

An interesting finding was made by Margaret Neville on a September day in her garden in South Africa. She found a flower mantis, a type of praying mantis with the ability to disguise itself as a flower, resting among her lavender bushes. The specific one discovered by Neville is feminine, having huge swirl pattern on her back and protrusions with the appearance of lavender buds along her legs. Neville called the mantis “Miss Frilly Pants” with regard to the insect’s purple “pantaloons” out of her amazement toward the creature’s attraction.
She shared, “Nature is there for us all to share.” True to her claim, Miss Frilly Pants has gathered a vast number of fans around the globe. Her photos are even displayed on the Facebook page of Waterfall Retreat & Environmental Centre, who stated that the female mantis had found a mate of its kind, in late September.
It’s safe to say that the mantis Neville discovered isn’t alone in this world, because several species of its kind are distributed around the world. There is another type of flower mantis called orchid praying mantis, with the female ones bigger and brilliant in color, having legs looking exactly the same compared to orchid petals, who would wait for other insects to be deceived by their appearance before coming near them and lowering their guard.
Nonetheless, the males do not have a floral layer of camouflage, being smaller with dull appearance, making it much more difficult for them to find foods. Instead of lying in wait, they must come out hunting. This distinct feature in gendered hunting strategy and its effect on evolution is thought to be singular among spiders and insects, common arthropods, by scientists.