Golden Girl

This is a spectacular yellow form of the Giant Rainforest Mantid, Hierodula majuscula. The specimen was donated to us and was found south of Innisfail. Although the nymphs can adopt a wide range of colours including greens, yellows through to rusty reds, the vast majority of adults are green.

While yellow does not seem to be a colour that blends into the lush green rainforest at a glance, when you look up into the sunlit canopy it is a sea of bright yellow. While in Costa Rica last year, we found a bright yellow Eyelash Viper, Bothriechis schleglii in a tree in our backyard. I figured the snake would be easy to spot the next morning – not the case. The colour made it impossible to spot.