Visitor on my Lady in Red

I was preparing to trim back some of the old, scraggly flowers on a Lady in Red when I saw this little lady looking back at me!

Oh how cute!! She's admiring the flowers too. :) I love praying mantises- the way they turn their little heads is so cute. I did get attacked by one when I was younger though LOL.

attacked????????

That pic is awesome Sterhill!!!!! You should submit it to a magazine.

Great photo! If they knew how much some of us love them, I'd never have another aphid, I'm sure. That's what gardening's about.

Thanks all! Here is another shot where I finally got her to look right at me. It was getting dark and I just had to cross my fingers.

nice pics sterhill.....gotta luv them mantises. - jon

She's incredibly cute! I wish I had praying mantises. They figure so much in martial arts folklore that I'd like to watch one close up.

You might have them.

You have to really watch for them. This one was tiny and green so she blended right in. You can see how little she is as she is standing on one petal of a lace cap flower.

I have a lovely little camera and I keep it in my pocket when I go out to water or weed. I'd miss a lot of great shots otherwise. I've learned to watch for movement and then see what little gem might be looking back at me!

Here is a picture of her or maybe her friend standing on a leaf of a bog sage. You can see how hard she is to distinguish.

this is the pix I meant to send - the other one is not quite focused...

I wish I had mantises, too! They are so lovely! I was 'attacked' by one as a child, too. Only, it was probably self defense! I can tell you that they bite - hard!! Those mandible are not a joke.

Note to self: don't ever sneak a mantid into the family car to play with during the ride. The creature will bite the fire out of your finger and you will scream and fling the thing onto the dash board, scaring the juice out of your mom, and almost causing your dad to wreck the car. Then you will get in trouble, and no one will give one whit about your finger having been bitten. LOL!!

I am glad you shared that. Although I can certainly see why a child would want to sneak one home. They are so pretty. I'll be very careful around these! I know to back off from strange spiders and snakes - and wasps - but I didn't realize these would/could attack.

Well, I wouldn't exactly say it 'attacked' me in a serious way. After all, it was probably in fear for its like. But then again, they do eat the head of the male mantid after mating.................... LOL!

Those pics are sooo good, I'm looking for a new camera what kind is yours?