Here’s the first “spot the” for 2017, and it comes from reader Mark Sturtevant. His note and photo:
It has been an age since I did one of these. Can the readers of WEIT spot the praying mantis? As with one of the others I did, this is probably a European mantis (Mantis religiosa) that is common around here.
Click on the picture (twice with an interval between clicks) to enlarge it.
I’ll put up the reveal at noon Chicago time. I rate this one “pretty hard”. And don’t forget, you too can submit “spot the” pictures, but make sure that a. the animal is not easy to find and b. it isn’t places in the center of the photo!
This one I can’t find.
Good grief…
After half an hour in Photoshop with sharpen filters, inverts, etc, I *may* have found it, but I not confident!
Very hard!
I am never sure how these things will turn out. Since I know where it is (and it is in plain sight), my eye goes right to it.
I like them, so a big thank you from me.
Just opened it in P/s again – and I am much more confident now…!
oh, come on!
Is it missing it’s head? I see what appears to be a brown body with legs but don’t see the telltale mantis head. Perhaps he was lunch for a female?
I thought this also!
It has a head, but its cleaning one of its forelegs.
I reckon I’ve found your headless one, and now after two careful passes I’m suffering from mantis pareidolia. I think I’ve found another insect, but only the forelegs, and the head looks too small.
No luck.
It’s behind the lower right quadrant of the book cover from where I’m sitting
The only identifiable parts are the legs.
I can’t find the Mantis but I did find all the stick insects and Leaf insects!