Giant Asian Mantis nymphs with exuviae

Description:

These Giant Asian Mantis nymphs must have moulted, not very long before I took the photos. Both mantises were very close to their respective exuviae and seemed to be quite motionless, probably waiting for their new exoskeletons to become firm enough to move around. In the first photo, the nymph is on an upper leaf and its exuvia is lower on the plant. In the second photo, it is vice versa. They can be seen better in full screen view.

Habitat:

Spotted in the farm on Tropical Whiteweed (Ageratum conyzoides Linn.) known in the Philippines by various names in many dialects. In our local dialect, this plant is called Salunay. Plant information - http://stuartxchange.com/Bulak.html...