Mantis takes ride on rare blue viper’s head

By Taniya Dutta

A bright green mantis looks like it is going for a ride as it sits on the raised head of a deadly viper.

In these incredible pictures, the bright green insect wraps its tiny legs around the slender blue Pit Viper and leans its body close to the shiny reptile’s skin.

Pic by Yan Hidayatyan/ CATERS NEWS

The striking images were taken by Indonesian photographer Yan Hidayatyan, 43, in Padang in West Sumatra.

Pic by Yan Hidayatyan/ CATERS NEWS

He said: “I took these pictures around 10 am in the morning in Padang in West Sumatra and casually uploaded the pictures on my Instagram page but it got so many hits.”