Monday, June 26, 2017

Bark Mantis

Travel Bite no. 74:  The Fourth Bark Mantis
Duncan MacSwain to you (Bcc) + 1 moreshow detailsshow image slideshow

Hi Traveler and welcome to Bite 74 - The Fourth Bark Mantis

The discovery of a Bark Mantis during the May Amazon trip was a highlight of that trip.
To find another during this month’s Leadership Class trip to the Amazon was a self-imposed challenge.

The group of 21 students was thoroughly engaged: rainforest hikes, zip lining through the forest canopy,
swimming with dolphins, fishing for piranha, night boat rides into the mangrove swamps, searching for (and
finding) poison dart frogs and monkeys, meeting new penpal friends in El Chino village, and playing soccer
and volleyball with those same pals.

I had some free time to search for insects and the secretive Bark Mantis (see Bite 73). Finally, on day six,
I found not one but two! They are so hidden, so perfectly camouflaged, so elusive. What a thrill. But I
wanted more. I went looking for another on day seven.

And I did find one. It was perfectly camouflaged on a tree trunk. The right size, the right color, the 
correct shape, the correct positioning on the bark. Wow! What a find! But wait - it moved diagonally
up the tree, it tilted it’s head in a strange way. And then it flared a dewlap! It’s not a Bark Mantis.
It’s an Anole. Oh Well.

See you next week.
Duncan

 

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