Mantises Photographed Sitting On A Toilet Seat - And Elsewhere - By Eccentric Insect Fan (Pictures)
Scott Cromwell is from Oklahoma. He's a television repair man by profession, but in his free time he does something entirely different: he arranges and photographs mantises.
But this 40-year-old eccentric doesn't pose them in any old positions, mind - he puts them on a miniature toilet, reading a paper, or in the bath, or pushing a pram, or cooking some dinner.
As. You. Do.
Many of his props - which look like they've been lifted out of a doll's house - are actually sourced from eBay, with certain individual pieces, like the "Daily Mantis" newspaper meticulously crafted by hand.
Still, it begs the question... what's his trick? How does amateur insect photographer Scott Cromwell, from Oklahoma, manage to get these peculiar wee beasties to do what he wants?
The answer: more than a little bit of luck.
"I have the remote shutter trigger in one hand and a stick to direct the mantis in the other," he says. "Timing is everything."
For anyone who is curious as to which specific types of mantis Cromwell uses, the ones you can see in the pictures below are a violin mantis, a ghost mantis and a dead leaf mantis - perhaps the most appropriately named of the lot.
After reading our other piece on the smartphone powered by bugs, perhaps what Cromwell should do is use them as a battery-charging team... for his camera, perhaps? Just an idea there, Scott.
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Huffington Post Alastair Plumb First Posted: 15/12/11 13:31 GMT Updated: 19/12/11 09:48 GMT