It started with one tiny brown mantis hiding among the Lantana. Then came an even smaller green one — so perfectly camouflaged that finding it felt like a little garden treasure hunt. Now I find myself checking the leaves like a detective.
Every now and then, another little mantis turns up. A family perhaps? Or simply a very well-hidden neighborhood?
Blending in among the colourful Lantana flowers, its tiny size becomes even more obvious.
Cyprus is home to several mantis species, and juveniles can be astonishingly tiny — perfectly designed to disappear among leaves and stems. They grow through a series of molts, changing size and sometimes color.
I’ll keep checking the Lantana — who knows who might turn up next?
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