1/12/15 4:20 PM

Wheeled my bike out of the garage yesterday to go for a ride, and felt something with my fingers when I grabbed the handlebars. Quite a large preying mantis. I put it in the garden where it's now hunting grasshoppers:



And while I was pruning in the garden this morning, I came across this insect. Don't know what it is, but its twig-like camouflage is remarkably effective:

1/12/15 5:35 PM

And let me guess, being denizens of Australia, if either one bites you, you've got 20 seconds to live.

1/12/15 8:45 PM

Well, I've found that the second insect is the larva of a looper in the butterfly family Geometridae. Called "loopers" because they have legs at each end and loop up into a horseshoe shape as they move along. Apparently there are several hundred species in the family and not all of them are yet described.

And neither is dangerous to humans. When you pick up a preying mantis they try to stab you with the spines on their forearms, but you don't get more than a slight prick from that. They look quite impressive if you provoke them into a threat display:



The pose reminds me of some orchestral conductors I've seen over the years.

1/12/15 8:53 PM

"pose reminds me of some orchestral conductors I've seen over the years."

And/or Ralph Macchio?

1/13/15 7:07 AM

I think Pat's overstating the situation, but we can clearly not choose the bug in front of you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2y40U2LvKY