New Zealand Praying Mantis

Description:

Our native praying mantis. This one is an older nymph, it's wing bugs were developed but not quite fully grown. The New Zealand praying mantis is a large bright green insect with an adult body length of approximately 40 mm.

Notes:

I had been watering the garden, when I came inside I felt something buggish on my neck. I flicked it off...gently..ish (even bug lovers don't always enjoy an unidentified crawler on their neck) and to my delight it was one of my favourites, our native praying mantis. I popped him out on my daughter's bonzai outside where he settled happily and waited until I was free to get my camera.