I saw a picture of this thing on my Facebook page, and automatically assumed that it–or at least its color–was fake. But here’s a real photo of the Conehead Mantis (Empusa pennata) from Wikipedia. An excerpt from the article:
Empusa pennata, or the conehead mantis, is a species of praying mantis in genus Empusa native to the Mediterranean Region. It can be found in Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and on the mediterranean coasts of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Turkey and Egypt.[1] Because of its cryptic nature, or also possibly because of its fragmented, low-density populations, it is rarely encountered in the wild.
They’re incredibly cryptic, as well as patient, as the video below shows:
. . . and the head of the male (both sexes have cones):
A short video which shows the main features. Ah, the marvels of natural selection, which, it seems, can do almost anything.
Woah …
Yes, the Age of Discernment is needed now more than ever .., AI or not AI….
Beautiful animal. Is that an ocellus in the middle of its forehead (second picture)?
It looks like a creature from Pan’s Labyrinth. Pretty amazing.
That’s an excellent description.
I want one (or some) of them in my back yard to eat these mean ants I can’t get rid of. Pretty cool.
Oh, I know this one.
But on some BookFace groups where people share bug photos, there are always a few people (usually from Asia for some reason) who keep loading the pages with fantasy insects. And lots of comments from very impressed people and a LOT of hate from people who are very sick of it. I am in the latter group.
What a strange and incredible looking creature.
It looks like a creature straight out of the “Alien” movies!
Amazing footage. The photographer who captured the conehead mantis capturing the ant must have had endless patience also.