Mantis Devours Goldfish: Big Pics
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Sept. 14, 2011 -- It's not a sight you'd see in nature, but a mantis, striking a pose on the side of a fishbowl, meal in hand, does make for one heck of a striking photo.
And that was Scott Cromwell's intention when he helped this budwing mantis (bought off the internet for $10) get a hold of this already-dead goldfish.
"That thing'll eat anything" explained Cromwell about his budwing mantis. "Wiggle anything in front of it, it'll attack it and eat it."
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Well, that's if it can catch it first. It's not so easy when the prey has inches of water to swim in. (You can see video of the mantis fishing expedition here). So eventually, Cromwell had to take matters into his own hands in order get this goldfish fish into the hands of the mantis.
He helped the mantis grab hold of the dead goldfish, but the rest was instinct. The budwing mantis chomped down.
As the mantis devoured the fish, Cromwell snapped this shot. He only let the mantis get away with half of the meal though: "I didn't want it to get hurt by eating the bones," he said.
However macabre the photo, Cromwell's love of photography was inspired by animals.
Cromwell, 40, a television repairman by trade living in Oklahoma City, Okla., started snapping away 10 years ago when he adopted his dog, Amber. "I bought my camera to take pictures of her when she was a puppy," said Cromwell, who still uses Amber and his other dog Winston as models -- even if they're not always amused by his new subject matter.
You can see more of Cromwell's amazing insect (and dog) photos on his photography website.
Source and photo: Scott Cromwell
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