My Predicament with a Posing Praying Mantis

Oh, dear reader! This was indeed a vexing predicament for me. As much as I've gone off the deep end with photographing bugs lately, I do not (I repeat, do not) want this blog to become "The Bug Blog: All Bugs, All the Time!" Having already written four posts that (literally) focus on bugs within the last three months (but who's counting?), I had other post ideas for this week, featuring lovely photographs (if I do say so myself) of autumn leaves and their exuberant palette, chrysanthemums bursting into vibrant bloom, crisp-blue fall skies with feathery, fair-weather clouds. And then--THEN!--look who dropped in for a visit!

How am I supposed to turn down a critter with that face, a face that clearly says, "I mean business!"? He (or she?) looked like one of the alien-villains from the bar scene in the original "Star Wars." This was the largest bug (about five inches long) that I've ever encountered at close distance--and by close, I mean within three inches of my face, because you know I am a total nut with my macro lens. (My iPhone's Olloclip, however, was useless on a bug that clearly shops in the XXL department.)

I spent an hour or so with this serious-looking fellow (or dame?), snapping away from every possible angle, and learning more about praying mantises within that hour than I've learned in the last four decades and change. For example:

The praying mantis can turn its head 180 degrees (the only insect who can do it). I witnessed it for myself, as everytime I neared it with my camera, it turned my way to pose. (To be honest, it freaked me out a bit. Did I mention this was a very large bug?)
I didn't witness it for myself (phew!), but I learned that the notorious mating behavior of praying mantises is not as common as you'd think. Only a small percentage of the lovers end up Murderer and Murdered. One theory is that human observers exacerbate the cannibalistic mating behavior. (In other words, mind your own business, looky-loos!)
The praying mantis has five eyes--the largest set (which can change colors) has wide-angle vision and helps it judge the distance to an enemy before striking. The three small eyes between the large ones (see the head shot above) are for light detection. It's pretty hard to sneak up on a praying mantis. They're a bit like parents of teenagers, with "eyes on the back of their heads."
Even though they've got more than their fair share of eyes, they've got only one ear--on the belly, of all places!
Females are slightly chubbier than males and are usually too heavy to fly. Even though I didn't see this one flying, I'm guessing it was a male due to its svelte figure. Don't put money on it, though.

When it came time for me to release the model from the photo shoot, I have to say it had lost some of its scary-alien factor. From some angles, it looked kinda cute--like this one below, peering off the "Tray of Freedom" to the Great Beyond. When I look back over the photos, the first one now reminds me of a dignified, elderly gentleman with a cane.

My leggy visitor inspired me in one unexpected way: To take out "E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial" from the library. It's about time that the kids saw the movie, and I have this critter to thank for the reminder.

Am I the only one who can see the resemblance to E.T.? Try picturing it riding a tiny bicycle.

We now return you to your regular bug-free programming. See you next week, sans bugs, I promise!

Your turn: Has wildlife or nature ever gotten in the way of what you had planned? Can you forgive me for yet another bug post, or are you grossed out beyond belief? Please share in the Comments section below. If you are reading this post via email subscription or mobile device, click on the title or go to www.JoyfullyGreen.com from a computer to see the comments and leave one of your own. (Don't forget to click the box for subscribing to comments so you can follow the conversation.)

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