LEAF LADIES UPCLOSE
Being slow and large, they are easy targets for birds, and since they live in a much warmer climate than we have here, they wouldn't make it long in the wilds here.
I took Isis out for a quick photoshoot outside. There was too much pollen on most of the flowers to actually put her on them, so we only got a couple pics. But boy, she sure looked around a lot, but she wouldn't climb up on most of the flowers I put her near.
To the right is a large picture of Isis outside. I left the picture large (1780 by 1078 pixels) so you can see all the fine detail, which increases with each molt. With the line of spikey things along their backs they are starting to remind me of little dragons or Stegosaurus.
Here's a very cool close-up of Isis' face (800 by 600 pixels). Their mouths have several arm-like mandables covering a verticle mouth and hinged cheeks.
Here's a good shot of one of the Ladies back. While they have a thorny appearance, it would be difficult to actually injure yourself on their spikes without killing the lady in the process.
Noxi likes to eat the leafs off at the base then eat the stem of the limbs. This shot (1296 x 956 pixels) shows not only how flexable their necks are, but how they hold onto leaves and branches with their claws while eating. You can clearly see in this picture the claws on either side of the suction cup that they have on each hand. While it may look menacing, they aren't strong enough to puncture the skin and tend to use the suction cup more than the actual claws which are more like non-moving fingers.
(800 x 600 pixels) Several hours after molting this Leaf Lady 'suns' herself under the 40 watt light in an atempt to dry her exoskeleton. Notice how opaque her body and arms are. In person it's almost like a dark amber color.
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