A wildlife photographer was stunned when he captured Praying Mantis larvae appearing to throw Saturday Night Fever dance moves on a branch.
The trio of Ghost Mantises are pictured in identical poses reminiscent of John Travolta’s iconic pose in the 1977 musical drama.
They appear frozen in time in the “lucky” snap by award-winning photographer Jimmy Hoffman, 57, at his home in Calonge near the Costa Brava in Spain.
The Ghost mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa) is a small species from Africa know for its remarkable leaf-like body which camouflages it among dry weathered leaves.
The internationally acclaimed photographer said: “It was already special to have three larvas in different colour variations sitting close together on the same stick, but the icing on the cake was of course the jump of one of them.
“The bizarre and alien-like body shape makes it even more fascinating to look at.”
He explained praying mantis can be cannabilistic and added: “In the picture the larva on the left was probably startled by the other larvae and just when I pressed the camera shutter-release button the larva was jumping of the branch.”
Mr Hoffman, who is a Dutch artist and photographer who moved to Spain ten years ago, called shot “Into the Void”.
He keeps tropical insects at his home and his “macro” photographs of them – where they are pictured to appear large in shot – have been published internationally.
He added: “It was taken at my home in Spain last week.
“It is a hobby of mine to keep and rear tropical insects.
“By rearing them I am able to capture the fascinating behavior and the development from egg to mature animal. Something that is very difficult to do in free nature and therefore usually remains hidden from the human eye.
“That way I try to make special and original macro photos and show the beauty of insects to other people.”
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