#mantis encounters

[letsgethaunted]

Welcome to the return of "What's Haunting You?", a Miniature Haunting series brought to you by Let's Get Haunted. On each Friday of this Spooky Season, Nat and Aly will be bringing you short, scary, non-fiction stories as told by the folks who experienced them firsthand. Come join us on this trip through the LGH archives as we dare to answer the question, "What's haunting you?" On this week's episode:

Tyler is working the graveyard shift at an Oregon gas station when a man comes in to buy food. Later, the teenager reviews the security footage only to realize that he was talking to...nobody. Who, or what, did Tyler meet that night?

When he was 9 years old, Chris was running up and down the stairs when he rounded a corner and suddenly came face-to-face with a pulsating green orb. What could it have been?

As a child, Edward remembers looking out the window of his dad's home to see a gigantic UFO with flashing lights. Later, in his adulthood, Edward is visited by what appears to be a Mantis Alien while trapped in a fit of sleep paralysis. Could these two experiences be related?

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[groovygrub]

[swagging-back-to]

worst trope is found family separating as soon as the antagonist is dealt with.

[artbyrewcana]

praying mantis - original piece by rewcana

print available here

reblogs are appreciated <3

check out the stream where i drew this piece!

full stream | highlights only

check out the article i drew this for! excerpt below:

I’m laying on my bed, drugs and hormones rolling through me, when I feel a light tap of something on my forehead. Opening my eyes, I see the black cat above focused intently at a point just above my head. Jet (aforementioned black cat) is a famously impressive bug catcher & killer despite his missing front claws. So when I saw him staring, bug-eyed, I knew I hadn’t imagined the feeling on my forehead. I tilted my head and caught sight of a green palm-sized, poised and praying mantis resting on the A.C. wire hanging right over my face.

[cockyroaches]

doing my very first nuzlocke run and oh man my team is.

[iobartach]

"Ya smell like food. ~"

Food!? Oh no, he wasn't going to let that slide, no matter who-- or what, he was currently facing.

"Who wants to know?" An attempt is made to gather clues, utilising words before his fists. The void of his mouth morphed quickly into taut grimace that gave a glimpse of pronounced fangs. Whoever this stranger was, their words alone hadn't been the only aspect of this encounter that set him on edge.

No, it was something about the Espada in general that stirred awake the more arachnid weighted aspects of his being, as if instinctively recognising extreme danger coiled within his opponent.

"If you so much as try, I'll tear your jaw off."

[fenharel-archived]

*threatens todd with a bat* there is a good game hidden beneath all this jank todd i can see it. why did you insist on adding all these empty planets everywhere todd? why?! why the forced focus on exploration when we already always wanted to explore your games without you forcing us?!

[wizardmarriage]

i was about to say like i have a collection of these!! but i was only able to find mantisman

[itsduckinghard]

"Excuse me, do you happen to have 5 euros in change?"

[bobtaildigger]

My unbelievable life - Episode 3 - Steven Spielberg

[letsgethaunted]

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07: What's Haunting You? (Ghosts, Orbs, Mantis Encounters) Photodump

Welcome to the photo dump for Episode 7 of the return of “What’s Haunting You?”, a Miniature Haunting series brought to you by Let’s Get Haunted. On each Friday of this Spooky Season, Nat and Aly will be bringing you short, scary, non-fiction stories as told by the folks who experienced them firsthand. Come join us on this trip through the LGH archives as we dare to answer the question, “What’s haunting you?” Read below for a summary of the stories featured on this week’s episode and flip through the images from this week’s photo dump!

IMAGE 01: Welcome to Episode 7! IMAGE 02: Tyler is working the graveyard shift at an Oregon gas station when a man comes in. Later, the teenager reviews the security footage only to realize that he was talking to…nobody. Who, or what, did Tyler meet that night? Here is the gas station in question + another image of the door the man walked through. IMAGE 03: When he was 9 years old, Chris was running up and down the stairs of the building he lived in with his family when he rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a pulsating green orb. What could it have been? IMAGE 04: The sand in the orb was described by Chris as being similar to one of these toys. IMAGE 05: As a child, Edward remembers looking out the window of his dad’s home to see a gigantic UFO with flashing lights. IMAGE 06: Later, in his adulthood, Edward is visited by what appears to be a Mantis Alien while trapped in a fit of sleep paralysis. Could these two experiences be related? IMAGE 07: Quick sketch of the description of the symbol Edward saw on his wall. IMAGE 08: Thanks for stopping by Baba Aly’s haunted apothecary! Do come again!

[willowedspirits]

Hollow Knight Linked Universe AU! I've finally finished it!

If you don't know much about Hollow Knight, a lot of the technicalities might not make sense, and I would encourage you to look into the game. Or you could just enjoy the chain as bugs and see them off on their buggy adventures!

I've made this AU trying to keep as close as I can to Hollow Knight's story, but some creative liberties were of course taken.

My main idea is that the infection is the equivalent to Dark Link's (who does exist in this) infected monsters and it's up to them to try and slow/stop the infection. My first thought was to have the infection start to spread outside of Hallownest, and the chain needs to go and stop it, but I'm still going back and forth on it.

I'm still open to changing concepts if I find something that works better, but after literal months of working on this on and off I'm happy with how this has turned out!

Rambling about character details below!

Small note: I've set this AU at roughly the start of the infection, when Radiance was starting to take over Hallownest.

Time

Is not from Hallownest. He traveled to Hallownest from a distant land, where he met Malon and settled down with her.

He encountered Radiance upon entering Hallownest, but was protected by a god that had already laid claim to him, Fierce Deity, who protects him from the Radiance's infection.

He and Malon live in the Howling Cliffs.

His wing and antenna injury are from Radiance when she tried to infect him.

He is not able to fly because of the injury, and now fights with a heavy nail.

His wings used to be green, but after encountering the Fierce Deity, they slowly started to change in color until they were blue.

I'm not sure if I would do anything with the eyes on his wings, I was trying to make a connection to Majora in that, but I'm still debating whether to add it.

Twilight

Is a part of the Traitor Mantis tribe that lives in the Queen's Garden.

He met a Sibling (Midna) that escaped from the Abyss. They gave him the ability to harness Void.

Still working on the detail for how exactly they give him this ability, but my rough idea is that perhaps both of them were attacked by and infected villager, and they saved him by giving up their Void essence.

He's grown up wanting to be infected by the Radiance. He was taught the Radiance was a god that gave bugs great strength, but after seeing what the infection really does, he starts to have second thoughts.

The cloak he is wearing is new. The one he wore before was damaged. I'm still debating on when exactly he gets it, but I think it's something he makes after he leaves the traitor village.

Warriors

He is the head knight of the Hive and oversees whoever enters their territory.

His scarf is a gift from the princess of the Hive given to him when he leaves to join the group.

Since he is a bee, he is connected to the Hive via the hivemind. He uses this to check in on his home whenever he can.

This also makes it very dangerous if he gets infected, since it would quickly spread to the other bee's.

I kept his nail the same as Hive Knight's, but it's open to change.

Four

(I'm still very iffy on Four's story concept, but here's what I have so far)

Lives in Green Path.

He has a passion for weapon smithing, and planned on moving to the capital of Hallownest (City of Tears).

But he accidently stumbled on a weak Unn, and agreed to help protect her while she recovered.

When she did recover, she blessed him with a power that allows him to split into 4 parts of himself using his SOUL.

He can split while in the physical world, but will always be split while in the Dream realm. This also makes it difficult for Radiance to infect him.

Wind

Lives in the Kingdom's Edge and works as a guide across the acid lakes. Most of the travelers are those who are seeking to fight in the Colosseum of Fools.

This is how he found the Colosseum, and regularly attends (but not participate in) some of the fights, which is how he meets Tetra.

He is just learning to fly, but is picking it up really fast.

I wanted to keep the lobster apart of his design... But there are no lobsters in Hollow Knight... Then I remembered this was an AU and I can do what I want with it. So lets just pretend that Lobsters are seen as these awesome ancient beings that he wishes to see one day.

Wild

He was a guardian of the Beast's Den before he became infected, leaving the Den to reside somewhere in Deep Nest.

He is cured by the Dream Nail when the group meets him, and the last to join.

His shell is cracked and damaged because of the infection. The cracks have healed over time, but will never go away.

He has trouble with his memory due to being infected for so long before being cured. He is slowly regaining his memory, but there are still a lot of pieces missing.

His infection spread through to his arm, but is hidden under his cloak.

He uses his nails almost as throwing needles.

Legend

Is a shop owner in Hallownest's capital. He sells all kinds of items from all across Hallownest, small things he's found that could be valuable.

He's managed to make his way into the upper class of the capital due to his shop. His cloak is a modified version of the upper-class wardrobe. He dyed and added the hood himself.

Has a great sense of exploration, and has been all over Hallownest, but still has some places he needs to check off.

His jewelry are all gifts from Ravio.

My original concept for his design was to give him 4 arms. I was thinking of the Collector when designing him, and thought it fit. But after working on finalizing the design, I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it. I still love the concept though.

Hyrule

(Again, I don't have a clear story concept for him but I have some notes)

Lives in the Ancient Basin.

Has learned how to use SOUL, and is in hiding from the residents of the Soul Sanctum because of it.

He has access to spells and is able to heal himself using SOUL.

I originally gave him a cloak, but couldn't decide if he looked better with or without it. So he does have it, but only sometimes.

Sky

Is the wielder of the Dream Nail, which can be used to cure infected bugs by purging the Radiance from their dream's.

Has wanted to learn to fight with a nail since he was little, and would practice his skills.

He learned about the Dream Nail after some of the moth tribe became infected. He left shortly after he learned this infection was spreading through Hallownest, with the goal of stopping it.

He isn't the only one that can use the Dream Nail, but is the one dubbed the "owner" of it.

And that's what I've got!

I didn't go much into Dark Link here, but would be happy to show some concepts I have for him as well if anybody is curious. I'm making him almost like a living version of the Radiance's infection, and is able to spread it from bug to bug without needing to access their dreams. This is mainly why I'm torn on having them leave Hallownest. If Dark Link could spread the infection to farther lands, or to keep him inside Hallownest and just spread it faster there.

I thought that using the Dream Nail was a good equivalent to the Master Sword here, so I just mashed them together, and a lot of the motivations for the chain trying to stop the infection is "I'm seeing this awful thing happen to these bugs that I don't want to see happen to others," with some small variations here and there.

I've been working on this for so long, I just want to share by bug boys. I would love to gush and ramble about them some more. I have stuff I want to do with this AU.

[ljsbugblog]

a wonderful encounter with a Spiny Grass Mantis. mantids are really something special, it feels like there's a lot of intelligence and awareness about them (or perhaps I'm just anthropomorphising lol).

at any rate, she* was very patient with us as we fawned over her and took a ton of photos, before gently returning her to the fence to continue her prowl.

I especially love this photo of her foreleg, such wonderfully intense spines!

*I don't actually know how to sex mantids, my guess is based entirely on their short wings and generally large size. I welcome any corrections or tips on determining mantis sex!

Spiny Grass Mantis, female(?) (Archimantis armata).

[bogleech]

Could I mayhaps know what's the name of that arachnid field guide you have 0//0 it looks really pretty and I have. A thirst for all arachnid related field guides and biology books, love those critters

The Golden Guide to Spiders and their Kin! There were lots of them, originally made in the 60's or 70's I believe, and they used to still be so common when I was a kid - still in print, and sold for just a couple dollars everywhere - I thought everybody had a few! But now they seem to be forgotten.

I had the spiders one, insects one and "seashores" one (mantis shrimps and nudibranchs!!) before I could even read, just looking at the pictures all day. As I learned to read they were how I learned concepts of taxonomy and ecology, why I knew what a "parasitoid" was in first grade and I'd talk constantly about insects that aren't really RARE, but culturally most people never heard about. These books made things like velvet ants, bolas spiders and hairy millipedes seem to me like knowledge as ordinary as dogs and cats.

That "pests of animals" page in particular is why I knew there were wingless parasitic flies, and I thought that was so cool, I was obsessed with "SHEEP KED" for my entire childhood. This bug that nobody ever heard of when I mentioned it, but was at one time deemed worthy of inclusion in an everyday field guide. And they include "duck louse" as an animal pest you're expected to encounter. Sheep and duck parasites?!.....Oh, right! When these books first published, it was still commonplace for almost everyone to have experience with farm animals. Most people at least had grandparents or aunts and uncles with a farm they might visit and help out on. Of course they would encounter sheep and duck parasites. I think they still publish these, actually, I'm sure I still saw them in Barnes and Noble only a few years ago, but it's remarkable what a different America they were made under. My old copy even recommended DDT to control bed bugs....they did eventually edit that out in newer editions.

Some of their attitudes may be outdated here and there, and they're only intended for North American wildlife, but I think the golden guides might still be perfect introductions to their topics for anyone, anywhere of any age really?? They're such well-balanced overviews so densely packed with just the most essential information about each organism.

....Did people really ever just call tree frogs "hylas?!" It's one of their genus names, but was it also used as a common name anywhere? That's a cute idea. Maybe it was, briefly, so at some point to someone there was a concept of Frog, Toad, and Hyla?

[cockyroaches]

I still haven't tried beating the E4 btw I just finished level grinding my team in the daycare AND picking up extra rare candies and PP up with a Meowth squad but I'm Still not satisfied so I'm chasing type enhancing items with Thief. Because I'm a normal person

[lilybug-02]

Wait you like bug photos?? I've got some!!

Here's a lovely lady and a doomed man atop her back (he actually survived this encounter and molted afterwards!)

And here's a guy who landed on my window with a hearty *donk* and walked around for a while so I could get good pictures :D

Oooh! Thank you. Those Mantis are HUGE, or at least they look it in the photos. Good for that guy, living to mate another day. Love the Grasshopper. Bugs are so silly when they splat.