Wildlife Wednesday – Monarch Munching

This is a comment I left over at de Wets Wild post about the African Monarch butterfly…

WoW Dries, you’ve taught me something new, again!
I really didn’t know that Africa (and surrounds) had it’s own Monarch! So, maybe the monarchs we saw in New Your weren’t the first we’ve seen! Maybe I’ve seen them back in SA!
I sometimes wonder just how unpalatable these brightly marked insects are. When we spotted our first Monarch in New York it landed on a buddleia butterfly bush… shared by a beauty of a praying mantis, who was munching on something. On later inspection of photos we realised the mantis was eating a monarch abdomen. We actually found a monarch wing close by… seemingly from the very butterfly the mantis was eating!! I think I will have to do another post about our finds in NYC, thanks to your share of the African Monarch!

Yep… that black and white “object” the mantis is holding (and chewing on) is a Monarch abdomen.

Do visit the de Wets Wild blog… an education and wild experience all rolled in one!