Orchid mantis

I was watching a programme about a zoo where they breed rare and endangered species. One of the creatures this week was an Orchid mantis called Natasha. She has eaten all her previous mates but the keepers were hoping that the remaining male, Bruce, would be spared. Bruce is much smaller than Natasha. They took Bruce from his enclosure and placed him in Natasha's. They distracted Natasha with a meal of a cricket. Bruce made his move but instead of getting on with things he embarked on a courtship ritual which involved noisily tapping his front legs on her back. Nature doesn't make things easy for the poor males!
The whole thing takes 24 hours and then he had to escape, which he did with the help of a keeper and a pair of tweezers as he was rather reluctant to leave.
The adults are mostly white but the babies are black and red.

Jane