Description: Personal reflections about ecology, gardening for wildlife and the natural environment
Personal reflections about ecology, gardening for wildlife and the natural environment
One very warm day this summer I was lucky enough to observe a praying mantis ( Mantis religiosa) in my back butterfly garden. I watched attentively for some time as the insect made himself at home within the stems of the tall perennials. This one was relatively small as a mantid goes, measuring only a few inches at most. I remember seeing some as a kid that were much, much larger, but I suppose it could just have easily been that I was much smaller. However, I do still remember my amazement when, as a k
This day, after posing for some pictures on this flowery brightly colored background, this mantis climbed down within the brown speckled stems of my Echinacea and Eupatorium and “became one” with its surroundings. The shape of the insect’s body and its coloration provided the perfect camouflage.