What Insect Is This ????

Gizmonster | 20:09 Wed 02nd Jan 2013 | Animals & Nature

18 Answers

So we went to Tenerife for Xmas for 2 weeks and I saw this and was wondering what it is:
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii200/Burnleymoonbeam/DSC_0178_zpsf55fb070.jpg
Piccie of me holding it. Don't worry it's dead - I'm not that brave/stupid to pick up something that big when it's alive, when I've no idea what it is:
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii200/Burnleymoonbeam/DSC_0177_zpsce91c5c9.jpg

I've a feeling it's a Mantis, possibly a Praying Mantis, but I had no idea that they were resident in Tenerife.
Does anyone know for sure what it is plzz ??
I found another one in our room (alive!!) and managed to get it out of the room (still alive) before the missus saw it, as no doubt she would have screamed the place down :P

Dog Gets Over Excited ... Wants To Play

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tamborine

Best Answer

praying mantis...

20:13 Wed 02nd Jan 2013

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tamborine

praying mantis

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://alphadeltagamma.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/praying-mantis.jpg&imgrefurl=http://alphadeltagamma.org/history/the-national-insect&h=528&;w=600&sz=31&tbnid=FmEzhARvY0RDzM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=102&zoom=1&usg=__kkxSNyngwO5QIblFqp4iCjBOZlM=&docid=yTSsjK8GOsfxeM&sa=X&ei=sobkUOu6GOmo0QXn6oGwBw&ved=0CDsQ9QEwAg&dur=132

pastafreak

oooo...lovely! I was fascinated by them as a child. Could watch them for hours.Shame we don't have them in the UK.

tamborine

quite harmless, of the grass hopper family. Trees nearby would be harboring ants etc that they feed on.

pastafreak

PS...they would not hurt you...as far as I know.

237SJ

Yes, it`s a Mantis. The ugliest Praying Mantis I ever saw was in the Canaries. It was frilly (over its whole body). It lived on a bush outside our apartment and we used to feed it with dead insects. It`s little legs used to lash out and pick up the insects we gave it. (Sad I know but we were young and a little bit p1ssed ususally)

jno

http://bardofely.hubpages.com/hub/Unusual-insects-of-Tenerife

FredPuli43

Not only found in Tenerife, but originating in southern Europe. Not sure what harm anyone thinks it would do to them. It looks a bit odd, but the venomous praying mantis is yet to be discovered! It's the harmless looking insects in this country that you should watch out for. The common earwig can give you a nasty nip and anyone who fishes a great diving beetle out of a pond will soon discover that it's very unwise to handle it.

Bluestone

Is it dead in both pics?

They are harmless. If you pick one up and put it on the back of your hand, they jump off with a huge amount of force!
They also make a lovely noise when there's loads of them.

Gizmonster

Question Author

Thanks for the replies peeps :)
Just outta curiosity, would it have eaten the cockroach that we found in our room ...... assuming it could have caught it, 'cos they are very quick lil' sods and it very nearly got away from my glass :)

Bluestone

Yes. Although you wouldn't often find a praying mantis indoors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp5mPej-jW4

237SJ

A cockroach is probably too big for a Mantis. They like small flies etc.
BTW - isn`t the Mantis the insect that eats the male after mating? Very wise..;_)

Gizmonster

Question Author

@ Bluestone - yea it's dead in both piccies :(
I found it crawling about on our balcony, although it was rather sluggish, so I carefully picked it up and put it in some nearby bushes. I even put a few drops of water next to it in case it was de-hydrated - soft or what lol ??
Anyway, I went back out to it not long after and it hadn't moved far and it was dead :(

Bluestone

Aww :-(

pastafreak