the Praying Mantis

Today we were outside collecting our strawberries when Kortney happened to mention, "Hey! I wonder if we can find another praying mantis in our garden!" I thought that was cute that she remembered the experience we had about two weeks ago when I found one in our hallway, and, thinking it was a stick, went to pick it up. When it moved before I got close enough, I stopped and bent down to have a closer look. Sure enough, it was a praying mantis. How it got in my house, I have no idea, but I remember my mom teaching me that these bugs were good, and she had even caught one for me to look at once when I was young. So I got a little mason jar and captured it. When Kortney and Taylor woke up I showed them my find. At first Kortney was scared, but as she watched it through the safety of the glass, she became so intrigued by the way it moved. You know how their heads tilt like they're trying to figure you out? Yeah, it's weird. Anyway, after a while I decided we should let it go. So we took it out to the garden and watched it crawl out. Taylor probably would've gone right up and grabbed it if I would've let her, but Kortney stood back and watched as it explored for a bit. Before this mantis, I probably hadn't seen a live one in at least ten years, so I was so proud that my girls enjoyed him as much as me. So, back to strawberries. As we were picking our little crop today, Kortney mentioned her friend the mantis. I kind of commented something like, "Yeah, that sure would be fun to see." Then, not two minutes later Kortney said, "Mom! Look! There he is!" She pointed to the window well. I looked over, and sure enough, there was a bigger praying mantis hanging on to the window screen. We had the girls' little friends Cortnee and Dalton over as well, and they all hovered around the window well just watching him as he watched them back. I ran inside to get my camera, and these are some photos we took.

The mantis hanging on the window screen (he's watching us!)

Kortney holding it on the end of a dandylion stalk

Dalton and Taylor taking their turns holding him

After they let the poor little guy crawl around forever getting nowhere, they got brave enough to hold him on their hands and he crawled all over their shirts and legs. We all thought he was so cool. Taylor grabbed him once when he fell, and squeezed his little body a little too hard. She made his wings fan open, and that was enough for him. He pinched her finger with his claws and she couldn't even shake him loose. She screamed bloody murder and cried and cried, and he finally let go. That was the end of the fun. I picked him back up with the stalk and placed him safely in the garden where he'll live out the rest of his days in definite peace-- if he decides to stay!

Okay, so I went online just to make sure I was spelling it right, and I found this link to some photos of a praying mantis snatching and eating a hummingbird. Crazy. If you like this kind of National Geographic-type stuff, check it out... (no wonder Taylor screamed so loud)

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyardbirds/hummingbirds/mantis-hummer.aspx