RHH's photos with the keyword: praying mantis

This Praying Mantis was photographed on our driveway. It is an example of the ability of these insects to change color with their habitat. After a dry summer with little greenery left this mantis is brown instead of green.

This Mantis is actually not native to our state nor to the USA but is an import from Europe sometimes known as the European Mantis. They are common across North America and were probably spread through gardeners releasing them for insect control. We found this one when hiking at Hog Lake with other family members. Our eight-year-old granddaughter, Meghan, wanted to hold it and it crawled up her arm. She loves animals, birds, insects (she had a pet Ladybug for a while and wept when it died). The other children were scared of it and would not even touch it. There are about 2000 Mantis species world-wide, including a small gray mantis native to Washington State. They are fierce predators and the larger species sometimes catch and eat small reptiles, birds and mammals. The female will sometimes even start to eat the male while they are mating. They are sometimes incorrectly called Preying Mantises but the correct name comes from the prayer-like stance they take when resting.

This Praying Mantis, not Preying Mantis, was photographed on my granddaughter's arm at Hog Lake, Washington. Meghan loves animals, insects, birds - any creatures.