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Images taken by Igor Siwanowicz.
Credit goes to Faye for finding this.
A giant Malaysian shield praying mantis
Igor Siwanowicz has spent years carefully acquiring, breeding and
photographing praying mantises and other bizarre insects.
A dragonhead eumegalodon.
”I have always been fascinated by insects even from childhood,” he says.
“You could say that I am sort of a public relations representative in service
of creepy-crawlies. I think mantids are totally slick and sexy, and have
style. I take ‘weird’ and ‘bizarre’ as positive adjectives.”
A Malaysian jungle nymph.
Apart from the standard challenges presented by close up and macro
photography in the form of camera shake, operating with a limited depth of
field and ensuring enough light is available, Igor must also contend with the
temperament of his subjects. “Animals are very unpredictable and
uncooperative, and there is almost no way to force them into
collaboration,” he said. “One can use tricks though – moths and butterflies
are very docile freshly after hatching. Most otherwise fidgety insects can
be approached early in the morning, when the temperature is low and their
metabolism hasn’t kicked in yet.”
A giant devil's flower mantis
Igor cites his main influence as the works of the designer of the monster
from the Alien films, HR Giger.
A giant devil's flower mantis
A leaf bug
A plain mantis.
A praying mantis
A Malaysian orchid praying mantis
A giant devil's flower mantis.
A Schizocephala mantis eating a fly
A conehead mantis
A leaf grasshopper
A Heterohaeta - the world's largest mantis
A spiny flower mantis eating another bug
A large African praying mantis in Igor's home studio in Munich, Germany
Stag beetles fighting in Igor's home studio
Death's head moth caterpillars
An adult Saturnid moth
A giant green pill millipede
Two African praying mantises
An adult male Rosette-Nosed Chameleon
A crested gecko
Two large praying mantises show their colours in Igor's home studio
A flower praying mantis
A Chinese comet moth caterpillar
A Brahmin moth caterpillar...
...and a Brahmin moth
Credit goes to Faye for finding this.
A giant Malaysian shield praying mantis
Igor Siwanowicz has spent years carefully acquiring, breeding and
photographing praying mantises and other bizarre insects.
A dragonhead eumegalodon.
”I have always been fascinated by insects even from childhood,” he says.
“You could say that I am sort of a public relations representative in service
of creepy-crawlies. I think mantids are totally slick and sexy, and have
style. I take ‘weird’ and ‘bizarre’ as positive adjectives.”
A Malaysian jungle nymph.
Apart from the standard challenges presented by close up and macro
photography in the form of camera shake, operating with a limited depth of
field and ensuring enough light is available, Igor must also contend with the
temperament of his subjects. “Animals are very unpredictable and
uncooperative, and there is almost no way to force them into
collaboration,” he said. “One can use tricks though – moths and butterflies
are very docile freshly after hatching. Most otherwise fidgety insects can
be approached early in the morning, when the temperature is low and their
metabolism hasn’t kicked in yet.”
A giant devil's flower mantis
Igor cites his main influence as the works of the designer of the monster
from the Alien films, HR Giger.
A giant devil's flower mantis
A leaf bug
A plain mantis.
A praying mantis
A Malaysian orchid praying mantis
A giant devil's flower mantis.
A Schizocephala mantis eating a fly
A conehead mantis
A leaf grasshopper
A Heterohaeta - the world's largest mantis
A spiny flower mantis eating another bug
A large African praying mantis in Igor's home studio in Munich, Germany
Stag beetles fighting in Igor's home studio
Death's head moth caterpillars
An adult Saturnid moth
A giant green pill millipede
Two African praying mantises
An adult male Rosette-Nosed Chameleon
A crested gecko
Two large praying mantises show their colours in Igor's home studio
A flower praying mantis
A Chinese comet moth caterpillar
A Brahmin moth caterpillar...
...and a Brahmin moth
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