Subject: Hunter & Hunted
Location: Rose Hill/Montecito Heights
September 14, 2013 10:48 am
Good morning Daniel,
It’s been a while since I’ve had time to go through the site for all of the new submissions however this morning I saw something I thought to be share-worthy.
This year has brought to my yard many Green Lynx spiders as well as several mantids. This one [Lynx] in particular made it into my house last week. Here size amazed me, full leg spread makes her about the size of a half dollar with a body the diameter of a quarter. After a failed photo shoot where she jumped on me I escorted her out to my potted orange tree vaguely recalling I had seen a juvenile mantis some weeks ago but never again. Well… I think the pictures tell the rest of the story.
Ironically, I think his nest mate (a female) on my chili plant made short work of the Lynx that were there over the last few weeks. Brother not so lucky.
Signature: joAnn
Dear joAnn,
Thanks for submitting this wonderful documentation of a Green Lynx Spider eating what we believe is a male California Mantis. We hope he had a chance to mate with the female on your chili plant so that you will have a new generation next year. Even though you are across the freeway, we are tagging your submission as a Mount Washington posting.
Update: September 14, 2013 7:30 PM
Hi Daniel,
I checked in on them this evening and found that she’s still feeding. Her abdomen has blown up considerably while the mantis has become all but translucent.
Here’s a follow up shot, unfortunately I had to use my phone so it’s not as crisp – I think it still conveys her progress. Hopefully they didn’t take out all of my mantis babies. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a new batch next year.
Enjoy your evening,
joAnn
Hi joAnn,
Thanks for the update. We suspect this well-fed Green Lynx Spider will be producing one or more egg sacs in the very near future. Your posting has really struck a chord with our readership as there are 15 “likes” this morning.