#Mediterranean mantis

[snototter]

A mediterranean mantis (Iris oratoria) in Sardegna, Italy

by David

[onenicebugperday]

Mediterranean conehead mantis, Empusa pennata, Empusidae

Photographed in France by Bernard DuPont

[vrgssmncht]

MEDITERRANEAN CONEHEAD MANTIS OR EMPUSA PENNATA FOR DAY TWO LETS GOOOO

[hmantegazzi]

Being from a Mediterranean place, it's so weird to see a Mediterranean biome mimetic! Usually, textbooks and documentaries show camouflage as something that happens in dense forests, with saturated colours of lush green or autumn yellows and oranges, but this mantis looks like wheat and it just dawns on you that it would be perfectly possible to pass beside it hundreds of times and never see it, on any average day.

this is Empusa pennata, a mediterranean conehead mantis, and i've wanted to see one since i was eight years old. she wasn't happy about being removed from her hiding spot, my camera, or my general existence, which made photos a little complicated, but the real deterrent was the fact that for a really long time all i could do was stand there speechless

this has been my #1 local lifer for as long as i've had a concept of "animal i really wanna see one day". now that i've finally found one i dunno what my next goal could possibly be. maybe a dodo. maybe another conehead that looks exactly like this, why not. i miss her already

(September 1st, 2024)

[sushihtzu]

The thistle mantis (Blepharopsis mendica) is a fierce predator. Like other mantids, it uses its forelegs to quickly snatch unsuspecting prey before crunching on them with its mandibles. Found in parts of the Mediterranean, North Africa, West Asia, and southern Asia, this mantis prefers dry habitats, where it’s well-camouflaged among vegetation.

Photo : Richard Towell,

CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, flickr

[strawlessandbraless]

Some Praying Mantis Aesthetic for your feed 🙏

Devil’s Flower Mantis 😈 🪻

Orchid Praying Mantis 🌸

Kung Fu Praying Mantis 🥋

Spiny Flower Praying Mantis 🌵🌺

Conehead Praying Mantis🍦

Shield Praying Mantis 🛡️ 🍃

Mediterranean Praying Mantis 👯‍♀️

Malaysian Orchid Praying Mantis 🪷

[quinngefail]

I really thought I posted this but I guess I didn't :0 but uh this is a little project I did for a college class last year :] !!

But uh yeah what the text above the top says, a small selection of the praying mantis 💥💥💥 They are just so fucking cool to me, and this was super fun to do AGHHH

☝️🤓 Yapping under cut:

There are some small factual errors on it, like the Spiny Flower should have antennae lol. Dunno what happened there I'll be so honest

And the European mantis is incorrectly depicted as a Mediterranean mantis (which is also what the Iris Oratoria is lmao, Mediterranean is the common name and they can be green or brown) I just messed up when doing the research for the refs- which y’know. This is some real ☝️🤓 babbling but I JUST NEEDED TO CLARIFY SOME THINGS I FUCKED UP ON OR I WON'T BE ABLE TO REST LMAO

That is all :)

[mutant-distraction]

Conehead Praying Mantis

Native to the Mediterranean region, is known for its unique triangular head and elongated antennae.

📸 Marta Albareda

[talonabraxas]

The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail shines in the deep night of all the ages. During the Crusades, the Medieval knights searched fruitlessly for the Holy Grail in the Holy Land, but they never found it.

When the prophet Abraham returned from war against the kings of Sodom and Gomorra, it is said that he encountered Melchizedek, the Genie of the Earth. Certainly, this great Being dwelled in a fortress situated exactly in the place where, much later, Jerusalem, the city beloved by the Prophets was built.

Centuries of legend have it that Abraham celebrated the Gnostic Unction with the sharing of bread and wine in the presence of Melchizedek. This is known to both divine and humans alike.

It would be worthwhile to say that at that time Abraham surrendered tithes and his first fruits to Melchizedek, as is written in the book of the law.

Abraham received the Holy Grail from the hands of Melchizedek. Much later in time, this goblet ended up in the temple of Jerusalem.

There is no doubt that the Queen of Sheba served as a mediator at this event. She appeared before King Solomon with the Holy Grail, and only after subjecting him to rigorous tests did she deliver unto him so precious a jewel.

The great Kabir Jesus drank from that goblet in the holy ceremony of the Last Supper, just as is written in the Four Gospels.

Joseph of Arimathaea filled the chalice with blood which flowed from the wounds of the Adored One on Mount Calvary.

When the Roman police searched the abode of this Senator, they did not find this precious jewel.

Not only did the Roman Senator hide this precious jewel in the ground, but he also kept with it the spear of Longinus with which the Roman centurion had pierced the side of the Lord.

Joseph of Arimathaea was incarcerated in a dreadful prison for not wanting to hand over the Holy Grail.

When said Senator was let out of jail, he went to Rome, taking the Holy Grail with him.

Arriving in Rome, Joseph of Arimathaea encountered the persecution of Christians by Nero, and he left by the shores of the Mediterranean.

One night while sleeping, an Angel appeared to him and said, “This chalice holds great power because within it can be found the blood of the Redeemer of the World.” Joseph of Arimathaea, obeying the Angel’s orders, buried the chalice in a temple located in Montserrat, in Cataluña, Spain.

With time, this chalice has become invisible, together with the temple and part of the mountain.

The Holy Grail is the vessel of Hermes, the cup of Solomon, the precious urn of all the temples of mysteries.

The Holy Grail was never missing from the Altar-stone of the Alliance, in the form of a cup or goblet within which was placed the manna from the desert.

The Holy Grail emphatically allegorizes the female yoni. Within this holy cup is the nectar of immortality, the Soma of the mystics, the supreme drink of the Holy Gods.

The Red Christ drinks from the Holy Grail at the supreme hour of Christification, so it is written in the Gospel of the Lord.

Never is the Holy Grail missing from the altar of the temple. Obviously, a priest must drink the wine of light from the sacred cup.

It would be absurd to imagine a temple of mysteries within which the blessed cup of all ages is missing.

This brings to mind Guinevere, the Queen of Jinn Knights, who poured wine into the delicious cups of SUFRA and MANTI for Lancelot.

Immortal Gods nourish themselves with the drink contained within the sacred cup; those who hate the blessed cup blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.

The Superman must nourish himself with the nectar of immortality, which is contained in the divine chalice of the temple.

Transmutation of the creative energy is fundamental when one wishes to drink from the sacred vessel.

The Red Christ, always revolutionary, always rebellious, always heroic, always triumphant, raises a toast to the Gods when drinking from the golden chalice.

Raise your cup aloft and take care not to spill even a drop of the precious wine.

Remember that our motto is Thelema (willpower).

From within the depths of the chalice (the symbolic figure of the female sexual organ) flames spring forth which blaze on the glowing face of the real human being.

Ineffable Gods of all the galaxies always drink of the nectar of immortality in the eternal chalice.

In time, the chill of the Moon brings about devolution. It is necessary to drink from the sacred wine of light in the Holy Vessel of Alchemy.

The purple of the sacred kings, the royal crown and flaming gold are only for the Red Christ.

The Lord of Lightning and Thunder grasps the Holy Grail in his right hand and drinks the wine of gold to nourish himself.

In fact, those who spill the vessel of Hermes during chemical copulation become sub-human creatures of the underworld.

Everything that has been written here can be found fully documented in my book entitled The Perfect Matrimony. --Samael Aun Weor

[ashchoo]

Introducing,,,,Lilith!! Odalia’s younger sister :D

-

time for the info dump lmao :) tw for childhood neglect, abuse, eating disorders, mentions of cannibalism??

-

Lilith is the second born of the Mantis family—with Odalia being the oldest—and the quiet one out of the four. She owns a library and loves her job free of her mother’s influence. They have read every book in their library at least 12 times, and are always appreciative of donations. Lillemor uses her names interchangeably,,,also depending on the person (if she doesn’t know someone we’ll she uses Lilith but if she’s close with someone she uses Lillemor,,,don’t tell her mother about that >:3). And if a neighbor is having difficulty finding a book, just ask her! She’d be happy to help,,even if she is a bit shy As a child, her mother put her on a strict diet so someday she become a model—just like Odalia—and forced her to eat people like the rest of the Mantis family does,,,not only did it make Lillemor deathly thin from refusing to eat for extended periods of time, but she refuses to eat any meat at all.

Now for some random details lol,,,,wondering why she has two names? Well it’s because her parents couldn’t decide what to call her. Her mother Morana wanted to name her “Lilith”,,meaning “belonging to the night” (cuz Morana is edgy and evil and shit),,,,but her father Devland wanted to name her “Lillemor” meaning “little mother”(idk Devland actually cares about his daughters). She gets little meals from her friend Monty H Buzby (Monty by @g4l4ctical) cuz it’s cute and they’re besties :D. They can also play the harp! Her favorite book genres are horror fiction and mythology. She also loves the ocean and beach towns (since she’s based off of a conehead mantis, which are found mainly in Mediterranean coastal areas)

anyways thanks for listening to my Ted talk :) also here’s her voice claim

[pleistocene-pride]

Happy Shark Week! Carcharhinus melanopterus, better known as the blacktip reef shark or black tipped reef shark is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae which is endemic to warm shallow waters throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans as well as the Red, Mediterranean, Arabian, Coral, Timor, South China, East China, Arafura, and Japan Seas. This species tends to inhabit near shore waters up to 246ft (75m) deep, and as there name suggests they are very abundant on and around reefs, additionally blacktip reef sharks can be found in lagoons, mangrove swamps, and brackish/ freshwater rivers, estuaries, and lakes particularly in Madagascar and Malaysia. Blacktip reef sharks are known to feed on a wide array of fishes as well as squid, cuttlefish, octopi, sea birds, rays, shrimp, sea snakes, mantis shrimp, and small mammals like rodents. These sharks are also known to hunt in groups in order to herd and catch schools of fish. Blacktips are themselves preyed upon by large groupers, and other sharks such as tiger sharks, grey reef sharks, and hammerheads. Reaching around 3 to 6.6ft (.9 to 2m) in length and 20 to 40lbs ( 9 to 18.1kgs) in weight with females being larger than males, the blacktip is a robustly built species with a streamlined "typical shark" form and short, wide, rounded snout with moderately large, oval eyes. In terms of coloration they are light brown or bronze above and white below. The first dorsal fin and ventral caudal lobe have a conspicuous black blotch that brilliantly highlighted with white, hence there common name. Breeding occurs bi annually from June to July and December to January. Like other members of its family, blacktips are viviparous, with females giving birth to two to five young after a 7 to 11 month pregnancy, typically in shallow sandflats or mangrove swamps which they use as there nurseries. Under ideal conditions a blacktip reef shark may live up to 15 years.

[limbus-limousine]

Ik you're mostly a Sinclair poster (a very good one at that) but do you have any animal associations for Dante? Or any of the other sinners for that matter

YES YES ACTUALLY!!! SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS ASK...

I have a list of animal associations for project moon characters in general... I'm still working on it but I eventually want to get to background characters too like the optional ruina receptions etc. But currently these are my thoughts for limbus...

Dante: Merulanella blister/tricolor isopod (a perfect match if you ask me... very expensive collectionist morph too). This might change once we know more about them though!

For Verg and Charon I still have to think some up... But Charon is giving mustelid I must say

Yi Sang: Hooded crow + cicada

Dongbaek: Caramel crow!! (This would be a regular American crow, caramel is a mutation that's still being researched which gives them a creamy brown coloration)

Samjo: Great auk (extinct diver bird/penguin) + Royal tern + otter

Dongrang: African forest buffalo + blue roan shorthorn + Oxpecker + cattle egret

Faust: Rock ptarmigan + wooly aphid (still want to look for more...)

Don Quixote: Quagga + Bearded vulture + Monitor lizard

Ryoshu: Horned owl + Dragontail butterfly + Moth (still need to look into species) + ratsnake/black mamba (reference to Hell Screen)

Meursault: Honestly very hard choice... Mostly for personality reasons, I've been thinking of a Nurse shark + MAYBE badger (noctural + def. want an omnivore in there) + Clam or something

Hong Lu: Mantis shrimp + lemur + Sinosauropteryx (chinese compsognathid with conserved pigments of a ringed tail!)

Heathcliff: Aardwolf + Bronze-tailed peacock-pheasant (want to look for more too...)

Ishmael: Orca (only predator of whales) + kutchicetus (cetacean transitional fossil) + lobster

Ahab: Sperm whale + Narwhal + polar bear

Queequeg: Leopard seal

Rodya: Manul + Cozumel raccoon

Sonya: Leucistic amur leopard + Mediterranean fruit fly

Sinclair (more details...): Eurasian sparrowhawk + indeterminate canine traits. I imagine him as a bilateral gynandromorph (half male/female mutation), inspired by the real recorded specimens of lazuli buntings and canaries.

Demian: Malayan blue coral snake + Boelen's python + Luzon bleeding-heart dove. Pondering on lamb motif + maybe some traces of corvid

Kromer: Mountain lion + Hercules beetle grub + red headed centipede + some mantid perhaps (looking into it)

Outis: Przewalski's horse, or maybe a Mustang (debating, I'm not as informed about equines !) + Harris Hawk + Black headed python

Gregor: Painted trilobite cockroach (infestation) + Ensign wasp (main/original body) + House centipede

[weshallflyaway]

So I came down with a bad flu that has impaired my ability to do much of anything for the last two weeks, and here is where I currently stand.

It is Saturday. On Monday my son and I will be taking a 18+ hour journey to the motherland where we will stay for 6 weeks.

On Wednesday I will be taking the first exam for the course I’m doing while jetlagged. On Thursday I’ll be taking the second exam (while still jetlagged).

I have not packed. I have not studied. I have not gotten foreign exchange. I have not put roaming on my phone for when we first arrive.

I have however shortlisted several restaurants I want to visit (Uygher cuisine! Korean bbq!) and found the Mediterranean wholesale grocery supermarket so that I can manti and borek.

We come prepared to eat, but not for much else.

[socially-reluctant]

Hornet is pale but since he's Mediterranean he tends to tan

Mantis isnt so lucky 😭

Then Hornet has to spend the night slathering Mantis in aloe gel

[ro-botany]

obsessed with that orchid mantis you reblogged actually, i thought they were usually mostly white but wow. They're just so cool. Have you ever seen the vid of a construction equipment thing and the mantis? I think you'd enjoy it. It thinks it can fight a crane or whatever. total mantis move

Oh, actually that isn't an orchid mantis! Orchid mantises (Hymenopus coronatus) have a shorter body and a very smooth appearance, with distinctive tall pointy eyes and legs that look like flower petals. They do come in pink though, and they're very very pretty when they are!

But I looked around for information on the mantis in that video, and I'm pretty sure its one from the Empusa genus. Possibly Empusa pennata, aka the Mediterranean Conehead Mantis, though I can't say for sure as I don't know where the video was taken and I'm not a mantis expert lol. It's also very likely a nymph, not an adult; afaik mantises usually can't curl their abdomen up like that when they're adults, because their long wings get in the way.

These mantises also come in several different colours, but I think they look particularly stunning in pink.

Here's some more photos I found of them being gorgeous!

However I have not seen the video you mentioned and it sounds delightful. Mantises are so FIGHT ME all the time, I love them lmao. PLEASE send it to me if you have a link.

[unlikelycliteratureenthusiast]

🔎 Macro Photography: Conehead Praying Mantis! 🦗📸

This fascinating creature, native to the Mediterranean region, is known for its unique triangular head and elongated antennae.

The mantis uses its sharp eyesight and predatory instincts to ambush unsuspecting prey.

Photographer Marta Albareda has captured this stunning close-up of the conehead mantis, allowing us to appreciate its intricate details.

📸 Marta Albareda

#coneheadprayingmantis #macrophotography #photography #Empusapennata