Find the Praying Mantis!

Jul 13, 2016

It's early evening and the bees are all over the blanket flower (Gaillardia).

But wait, if you look closely, you'll see a tiny sticklike figure on top of a seed head. It's a predator on top his world, scanning the view, feeling the buzz and looking for dinner.

The praying mantis looks too diminutive to catch a honey bee. Too minuscular. Too puny. Too much of a pint-sized predator. Maybe it should set its sights on a fruit fly or a knat.

We see you, praying mantis! Come on out, with your hands up!

Will my spiked forelegs do?

He leaps off the seed head like a frog jumping off a lily pad, but instead of a kersplash, it's a kerplop.

See ya, next time!