It’s that time of year again — baby praying mantises are being born in our balcony terrariums. As tiny, first-instar nymphs, their defensive default is to run and hide, even behind a blade of grass, as this one did, not realizing I could still see its shadow!
These are Tenodera sinensis, or Chinese mantids.
A fruit fly, which the baby mantids eat, even on the first day of their lives.
Steven E. F. Brown 