Tis' praying mantis season. This mantis has been in one of our flower beds all summer long. At least we have noticed one living between the hosta and the basil. For some reason, the mantis seems so much cuter than its cousins, the cockroach and the termite. If you ever get close to a mantis, you will notice that they appear to be staring you down. Well, they can move their head about 300 degrees and they rely heavily on their vision for hunting. They see you, before you see them. Since they are carnivorous, we really love having them in our Greensboro garden. They are a great form of biological pest control.
The above specimen is a Carolina mantis, named for the Carolinas even though it has a much wider range of habitat.* We think the above mantis is a male and the one we shared earlier in the summer is a female. Males have streamlined abdomens, wings and can fly. Females have bulky abdomens and don't fly. When you stay home and observe nature, it is amazing what you find.
Happy Tuesday, dear readers. Today we're leaving the idyllic confines of our patio and heading downtown to see the progress being made for the folk festival. Meters were bagged to eliminate parking last Friday. We're hoping that the stages are in place and the town is ready for the National Folk Festival.
Very well camouflaged! I'm amazed you saw this!
Posted by: EG CameraGirl | Tuesday, September 08, 2015 at 01:46 PM
Quite a formidable critter, too!
Posted by: William Kendall | Tuesday, September 08, 2015 at 03:27 PM