re: Praying Mantises might be the coolest insects ever. What are your favorites?

quote:

---

Even seemingly benign bugs like lady bugs are vicious indiscriminate killers and cannibals. There's a whole micro war for survival going on at that level.

---

Ladybugs are cool as shite.

Here's the larvae form which voraciously feeds on aphids:


An older larvae or two will usually hang around eggs to protect them from predation. The adult Ladybugs lay the eggs and one of their older "children" guards them. They work together:



Larvae hatching. You can also see a Yellow Aphid in this pic:


Here's a larvae farther along in its lifecycle:



And after it shed and became an adult:



Just to complete the cycle, here are two Ladybugs trying to frick:

That vine they are on was covered in Yellow Aphids. The weather was perfect for Aphids last Summer, and as a result there were tons of Ladybugs and Green Lacewings out and about.