Photographing a Praying Mantis

Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis)

This blog is a little break from Nickerson.  My grandson, leaving work to come home, found on his bosses car tire a large praying mantis in the middle of a large parking lot.  He captured the mantis and put it into a box, called me that was bring it at home so we could photograph it.  I decided that I wanted photograph the praying mantis in a controlled situation.  First, I had to decide on what to photograph the mantis on, a bare branch, a green leafy branch, or a flower.  I decided to choose the flower and went outside at cut one of my Gladiolus and set it into a container.  Knowing that mantises can be extremely active, I used a technique that has been previously described to slow it down, which is to put it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.  My grandson and I set up our cameras with macro lenses and when we were ready, I brought out the box that contain the mantis, removed the mantis and placed the mantis on the flower.  The mantis stayed on the flower, moved around, clean the front pincers and gave us some great views.  We photographed the the mantis with and without a flash.  Without the flash, we had a great green background and with the flash we isolated the mantis and flower with a black background.  We photographed the mantis for around a half-hour before it flew away.

Set-up

Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis)

Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis) - Cleaning Its Front Pincers

Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis) - Cleaning Its Front Pincers

Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis)

More Winners

Well another pat on the back for me, I was just notified that one of my entries into "Share the View" photo contest that was conducted by the Audubon Society of Greater Denver was awarded a Judges Choice prize in the event. Three Judges' Choice Awards were selected during the judging process by our esteemed jurors, who felt the need to recognize more than our intended top ten. The names of the prize winners will appear on both the contest website (http://Denver Audubon.contestvenue.com/) and on our "Share the View" Facebook page, where we will announce one of the top ten finalists and Judges' Choice awards weekly.
Also another one of my entries was juried into one of the top 250 highly commended finalists that will be featured on their contest website during 2012.
By January 15th, all 250 highly commended images will be displayed on http://denveraudubon.contestvenue.com/ along with credits and photographer contact information. One of these images will be featured each day on the home page during 2012.

Butterfly Census Day - Allens Pond Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary

Saturday, September 10, 2011 I attended the annual Allens Pond Butterfly Census. This event is sponsored by the Massachusetts Audubon Allens Pond Sanctuary and is held on two consecutive weekends. The next will be Saturday, September 17 starting at 10 AM until 1 PM at the field station at 1280 Horseneck Rd., Westport, MA. It is open to butterfly watchers of all ages and from beginner to expert. Besides sanctuary staff there will be members of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club to help identify the butterflies and provide leadership. It is advised that people with long pants, and bring water and a snack.
This event has been held for the past eight or nine years and helps with the monitoring of the different species of butterflies that are present at the sanctuary. It helps with the monitoring of the lifecycles and changes that occur in the environment.
The group was split into teams to cover different areas and habitats of the sanctuary. The group I was with contained a number of children, parents and grandparents. Leader Lauren not only described and identified the butterflies but also taught the group about other insects, spiders and native plant life that were present on the walk.Bumble BeeYellow Garden orb Spider
We saw a number of praying mantis, and the youngest girl,

who never seen praying mantises before, located some on her
own











Stinging nettle has a long medicinal history. In medieval Europe, it was used as a diuretic (to rid the body of excess water) and to treat joint pain.
Stinging nettle has fine hairs on the leaves and stems that contain irritating chemicals that are released when the plant comes in contact with the skin.
Besides the usual butterflies we did find an unusual species, the  Fiery Skipper, which is a sub-tropical to tropical species that strays north.Fiery Skipper
Common Buckeye
American Copper
Common Buckeye
Cabbage White
Cabbage White
Gray Hairstreak
Monarch
Monarch laying egg
Monarch Egg

Orange Sulphur
Clouded Sulphur