Taking pictures of palm tree seeds, which I think look really cool but of which I didn't get a picture I really like (
example below), I was lucky enough to spot a little tan Praying Mantis (
above). The mantis had already spotted me, cocking its head to look me right in the eye. He (or she) was about 2/3 to 3/4 of an inch, not as small
the tiny green nymph I spotted last June, but it was a treat to see him (or her) nevertheless.
I adore mantises and consider them both
beneficial and lucky. I'd like to think that this guy (or gal) is a descendant of the ones I introduced to the yard a few years ago via store-bought egg casings. Maybe that's the case!
A neat fact about mantises: Their "praying" limbs are called "
raptorial legs" because they grab and hold their prey with them.
Reh! It makes sense that some folks substitute "preying mantis" for "praying mantis" because this creature more hard-core predator than holy contemplator. (Although who am I to say that mantises aren't being ultra-reverent
while chowing down on their victims?!)
P.S. Apparently "prey"/"pray" substitutions are called
EGGCORNs in linguistics! How awesome is
that term?!
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