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Praying Mantis

The "Praying Mantis" is truly a most remarkable creature with a striking appearance and curious habits!



10.20.2004 Daily Photo comments closed

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  • Becca said:

    That's funny. The other day I was taking pictures of the spider on my ceiling.

    10.20.04 - 04:58 AM / 1
  • Laura said:

    Nice picture.

    10.20.04 - 04:26 AM / 2
  • jac said:

    I have a praying mantis picture as my desktop wallpaper at the moment. But yours looks BIG.

    10.20.04 - 04:27 AM / 3
  • Angie said:

    That would make me scream and stand on a chair, like the maid in the Tom and Jerry cartoons!!!!!

    10.20.04 - 04:27 AM / 4
  • Chris said:

    Wow, I haven't seen one of those in years. Great shot!

    10.20.04 - 04:28 AM / 5
  • Dyanna said:

    My neighbor had one right by her front door too and FREAKED OUT. Called my husband to kill it and was extremely annoyed when she found out that you're not allowed to kill them (at least not in NJ) - then she freaked out some more when she found out her neighbor on the other side brought it from the park where he found it thinking it was 'so beautiful'. HA!

    10.20.04 - 04:31 AM / 6
  • Stephen McKenna said:

    That looks big enough to bite your head off!

    10.20.04 - 04:32 AM / 7
  • Dawn said:

    This does look like a very big one - more like two - are they reconvening the procedure maybe or is it really only one? I don't know where this tale comes from, but growing up in South Africa, if we saw a praying mantis around the house, it was said to signify that we were about to receive guests.

    10.20.04 - 04:33 AM / 8
  • beachgal said:

    Those things are so neat. Like giant over sized grasshoppers, almost. Can't wait for my son to be big enough so I can show him bugs and stuff.

    Great shot, as usual.

    10.20.04 - 04:33 AM / 9
  • Lala Wawa said:

    That is HUGE! Can't wait to see what Google ads pop up with this one.

    10.20.04 - 04:37 AM / 10
  • tiger said:

    ...nice picture. We seldom see these around here, so when we do I think it's a fairly cool experience. My MIL brought one home for the kids once... in a JAR and I HAD to let it go outside... it seemed somehow... like tempting fate in a bad way to keep a Praying Mantis in a jar.
    ...I know, I'm strange. :)

    10.20.04 - 04:38 AM / 11
  • sab said:

    that's so scary..

    10.20.04 - 04:40 AM / 12
  • carrie said:

    It must be the time of year that they come out in force or something, because for the past week or so, we have had daily visits from one and sometimes TWO of them on our office window, just as big as that one. When we look out the window at them, they look back. Amazing creatures indeed.

    10.20.04 - 04:41 AM / 13
  • tiger said:

    & just coming back to add... the whole "yes. yes it's for him." comment... yeah. Honesty schmonesty... when you have a cold all bets are off. It was amazing to me how many people would comment on my daughter when she was a baby... "Oh, how cute! How old is HE?" ...and she'd be wearing flippin' PINK and have bows in her hair. I mean. How observant does one have to be to NOT miss the PINK and the BOWS? Y'know? :)

    10.20.04 - 04:41 AM / 14
  • krissy pants said:

    I like that you were able to capture it's shadow...however looks like it's time to scrape and repaint the trim.

    10.20.04 - 04:47 AM / 15
  • shmee said:

    Is there a praying mantis in the photo? Drat. I just spent the entire summer painting the outside of the house, and all I can see is peeling paint. I friggin' dream about peeling paint. :(

    Nice pic though.

    10.20.04 - 04:48 AM / 16
  • Amy S said:

    I grew up in CA, I used to see and play with those bugs when I was younger, I have since moved to Minnesota and they don't have those here.I kinda miss them...

    10.20.04 - 04:50 AM / 17
  • janna said:

    I never know whether it's "praying" or "preying" mantis. I know it looks like it's got its buggy hands together in religious fervor, but in reality isn't it just looking for its next snack? I don't know. Great picture.

    10.20.04 - 04:57 AM / 18
  • robs said:

    I live in Alberta and I have neer seen a praying mantis...I'm actually very glad I haven't. Why can't you kill them? Do they bite(sorry stupid question)? They look scary.

    10.20.04 - 04:58 AM / 19
  • teach said:

    This must be their season - I just saw an equally gigantic one on the window during our last staff meeting. It looked just like a little alien and was much, much more interesting than the meeting (not that that's very difficult). Isn't a praying mantis a good omen? Like in China or something? If not, it should be...

    10.20.04 - 05:01 AM / 20
  • leandra said:

    I found one of those (about that size) on my car one evening. I didn't want to kill it so I tried to get it to step onto a stick so I could move it into the shrubs. The silly creature proceeded to "fight" with the stick until I finally managed to get it under him. Fascinating creatures, indeed.

    10.20.04 - 05:03 AM / 21
  • TracyDee said:

    Did you know that in Asian culture they are considered lucky?

    10.20.04 - 05:04 AM / 22
  • Jenn said:

    I love the mantis. I love the fecundity of the mantis. Anything that can drop 300 eggs in one sitting needs to be admired or reincarnated as a superhero. But what do they do? Make the superhero a man--if it were a woman-hero, think of the additional superpowers!

    10.20.04 - 05:05 AM / 23
  • Jenn said:

    BTW, nothing against men. It's just the mantis female is so well-known (the biting head off aspect). I just feel it was a good opportunity, lost. Like saying "no" to additional versions of CSI.

    10.20.04 - 05:07 AM / 24
  • Shiz said:

    I think getting a pink t-shirt for Leta with GIRL on it would be very funny.

    10.20.04 - 05:08 AM / 25
  • Leonardo said:

    Ohio State University Extension says adult mantids will mate readily in captivity, meaning frisky mantids are reconvening their procedures even as we speak...

    Hot Mantid Love. With spiny, serrated forelegs, to boot. Bugs are kinky. Why is the moral decline of our bugs not a hot election topic?

    10.20.04 - 05:13 AM / 26
  • Toki said:

    I saw one of those in September on my porch. It was actually discovered by my one year old daughter, who looked like she wanted to pet it. I wasn't sure if they were a biting bug, so I asked one of the teachers coming up to her car (I live in front of an elementary school) and she told me, yes they bite and also, "it's illegal to kill one because they're an endangered species." I wouldn't kill it anyway, but just so you know, if you WANTED to kill it, it's not illegal.

    10.20.04 - 05:13 AM / 27
  • Sven said:

    I wonder what in the whole wide world you´d have to take a photo of for people to say "I don´t like it, it sucks!". It truly amazes me!

    10.20.04 - 05:14 AM / 28
  • ling said:

    eww

    10.20.04 - 05:15 AM / 29
  • Eirik said:

    Ah. Yet another reason I'm happy to be living outside the U.S. (Bush and the Republicans being the main reason, of course ;) Brilliant picture, though!

    10.20.04 - 05:17 AM / 30
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