A Garden Find!

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my front yard garden to get some fresh curry leaves for my stew. While cutting the leaves, I noticed a movement on the growing mango tree beside it.

I paused, and then peered closer to the spot the movement was coming from. And I saw it, resting on all six, as if ready for a hunt. Preying mantis are ambush predators — they just wait and strike.

"Hello mantis, pose for the camera", I said, holding the particular branch steady to snap some shots. Lol.

After a few clicks, it started moving away, slowly. Did it notice the branch shaking in my hand? Did it sense someone was near? Maybe. Because after a second it slipped off and began hiding between the leaves.

"Hold it, mantis. I just want to get pictures and be on the go, not here for games." I threw in.

With every turn and movement it made, I kept clicking, capturing every part of its body.

See how its head is turned towards the camera. Mantises can rotate their heads almost all the way around without moving their body.

That pose. That's the “praying pose." Those folded front legs look like hands in prayer, but they’re actually hunting arms. Once they see any prey in sight, they snap out super fast to grab them.

They eat pests like flies, mosquitoes, aphids, and more. They're gardeners' friends because they help control pests.

Mantises are masters of disguise. See how it blended with the green leaves, to disguise itself. You'd only have to look closely to spot it.

See the back? Just the color and structure of a leaf. Nature is incredible!

Ready to strike! 😅

And that's a wrap. Have you seen a preying mantis recently?

**This post is for PhotoFeed Contest Wildlife Photography 172

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