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Stagmomantis limbata
Native to North America, and commonly known as an Arizona Mantis, this specimen was spotted at a Phoenix-area Botanical Gardens while snacking on a monarch butterfly.
Double whammy! Butterflies and a mantis posing together! A Stagmomantis limbata feasting on a Danaus Gilippus.
2 Comments
Thank you for the feedback. I modified my entry.
That is an interesting capture! Your butterflies look like Queens, Danaus gilippus (a relative of Monarchs). I suspect your mantis is from Genus Stagmomantis.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/3942
http://bugguide.net/node/view/4820/bgpag...
I recommend that you choose one of the species in this image (I would choose the mantis, personally, but you can do what you like) and add the information for the other in the description.
For example, this could be "Mantis with Prey" or "Mantis with Queen Butterfly", put the scientific name for the mantis in proper section, then write in the description about the butterfly.
You could reverse that if you want the butterfly to be the main focus. You can include links for both species within the text areas of your spotting.