I had to

Couldn’t pass up this post, which is going to be long without being wordy. I know you don’t believe me, so watch carefully.

Some of my resident mantids have gone missing for the past week or so, but the brown one returned last night. This evening at dusk, it had no sooner ventured out than it snagged a leafhopper meal, and I was able to capture a sequence of it knocking back this repast.

Hoppermeal1

HopperMeal2

HopperMeal3

HopperMeal4

HopperMeal5
I know, not half as much fun as the equivalent column space full of text, but hopefully still entertaining. I even got a scale shot so you can see the growth, especially when compared to this post (note the leaf sizes.) My shooting angle slightly blocked the light, but when I shifted position to try again, I spooked my model into hiding.

JuneMantisScale
It’s fun watching them grow up, but also a little sobering. Out of a dozen or so that could be found when they’d first hatched, I can now spot only two dependably. Moved on? Became a meal for something else? Cannibalism? I haven’t witnessed any of them come to an ill fate but remain confident that most have – that’s how it goes.