Praying Mantis Drama

September 22, 2010

Praying Mantis Drama

I almost crushed this preying mantis with my laundry basket this afternoon.
I had Chris watch her while I grabbed my camera.



Praying Mantis are intense creatures.
She watched me as I moved around her taking photos.
I turned my head she turned her head. Really.




Oliver and Freya were due home from school in an hour.
I really wanted them to see her so I rounded her into a big jar.

(Freya has never seen a living praying mantis). (Last week she saw her first green worm).




Manti, (that's her name), wigged out.
She was pissed and loud.
Manti hissed and tap danced her legs against the glass.
And she followed me with her eyes.
It's a fact.




Chris said I couldn't keep her in a jar until the kids got home.
Our conversation went a little like this

Me: I only have half of the lid on and I gave her grass and pretty red leaves. She can chill out for a bit.
Chris: She's extremely distressed and could die.
Me: Die of what? A heart attack. Insects don't have heart attacks.
Chris: You don't know that.
Me: How could anybody know if insects can die of a heart attack?



Chris was adamant about letting Manti go and when I looked down at her again she looked like this,




She was mother Mary lovin' ready to fight.
I told Chris he could take her back outside.

Me: Put her on the other side of the fence.

It was all very dramatic.

This evening I told Chris he would be a hero on my blog tonight.
Chris: I saved your ass from PETI by letting her go.
Me: What's PETI?
Chris: People for the Ethical Treatment of Insects.
Me: Does that really exist?
Chris: No Camille.

We had a nice family lesson about praying mantis without having Manti there hissing at us and threatening us with her blade of grass.
I though I was letting my imagination run a little too fast thinking that Manti was watching me
That was before we wiki-ed her.
We knew the basic stuff like they bite off there mates head during copulation and eat their bodies later.
I've noted a few interesting facts that I didn't know.

• Mantises are exclusively predatory.
• The mantis has remarkable speed.
• Prey items are caught and held securely with grasping, spiked forelegs.
• Mantises are highly visual organisms.
• Mantises engage in cannibalism.
• During matting the female starts feeding by biting off the males head (as they do with regular prey). The males movements become even more vigorous in its delivery of sperm.

All info came from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis

Now for some pretty things.

A gift wrapped in my favorite vintage wallpaper.



The moon rising over the mountains this evening.

It was a good day.

PS: My Etsy store is open. It is called Camille's Fancy Stuff.
If you click the Esty button at the top of my blog it will link you to my shop.
I have much more to post this week so keep checking back.
Please be patient with my shop while I begin.
It will be awesome when I get the hang of it.

Thanks friends!