Cute As A Bug
July 4, 2008
My dog Wally loves playing with bugs and finds them utterly amusing. Since I have a garden, Wally will often come into to the house with a bug or an insect (usually a garden beetle or a cricket) in his mouth, set the bug gently down on the floor and watch it crawl around for minutes on end. If the bug is too stunned to move, Wally will even nudge it along with his paw to get it going again. Well, he found a “bug” again today, and it certainly wasn’t the average garden variety!
Why, it’s a praying mantis! I’ve read about praying mantises before, and always envisioned them to be this menacing gigantic insect that feeds on its own kind, so it’s surprising to see one this small. The thing was really tiny (about 3/4″ long) and quite delicate looking with its long thin legs. Dare I say, it even looks somewhat…cute? As you can see, it’s only slightly bigger than a penny.
P.S. For those of you wondering what happened to the praying mantis – not to worry. After the photo op, I set the praying mantis back into the wild (i.e. the garden).
Linny
Room Candy – always yummy!
