- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Published on: December 7, 2023
Can a praying mantis catch a monarch?
Yes, it can. And yes, it does.
It was Sept. 14, 2013. As I approached a Vacaville supermarket, I noticed pink lantana blooming furiously near the entrance, and then, a familiar-looking butterfly quietly sipping nectar.
"Ah, there's a monarch," I observed.
I wasn't the only one watching the monarch.
A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, was watching it, too.
In a nano-second, it was all over.
A meal for the mantis.
One less monarch to migrate.
Yes, it can. And yes, it does.
![A monarch sips nectar from lantana near a Vacaville supermarket. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A monarch sips nectar from lantana near a Vacaville supermarket. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/103668.jpg)
A monarch sips nectar from lantana near a Vacaville supermarket. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, ambushes the monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, ambushes the monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/103669.jpg)
female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, ambushes the monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![The predator clutches the monarch with its spiked forelegs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) The predator clutches the monarch with its spiked forelegs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/103670.jpg)
The predator clutches the monarch with its spiked forelegs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Comments:
by Barbara Hunt
on December 8, 2023 at 1:59 AM
Incredible photos!
by Tim
on December 10, 2023 at 10:13 AM
Awesome photos, I'm just amazed with the hunting skills of the mantis. I enjoyed watching them ambush those huge Japanese killer wasp/hornets.If they don't secure the head they will get bitten forcing the mantis to release the hornet. HOPEFULLY
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