The Predator in our Garden

A Praying Mantis assumes its innocent-looking

 posture as it waits for its next victim.

One of the most humbling experiences for mankind is that whatever it discovers or develops is merely an acknowledgement or an application of what already exists in its natural state. 

 
For example, the United States was the first nation to have applied military stealth technology with the deployment of bomber and fighter aircraft, one of which – the F-114 Nighthawk – was used extensively in 1991, during the Persian Gulf War.
 
Because its approach could not easily be detected by radar, the F-117 was a fear-inspiring ground-attack aircraft.  Nature, however, has its own way of employing stealth in the design of its predatory creatures, one instance of which is the Praying Mantis . . .

. . . This is the second year that these creatures have positioned themselves in our gardens, one of which is in the front yard, and another, much less extensive one which is in the back, at the edge of the patio.
 

Seen in its full length, a Praying Mantis

blends in completly with its surroundings.

One of the plants which Pris and I like is known by its common name, the Butterfly Bush.  It really does attract butterflies; honeybees; and smaller, colorful moths; including the larger, elusive Hummingbird Moth which, as its name implies, hovers momentarily above flowers, gathering nectar, and disappearing as quickly as it arrived.
 
Those insects, particularly the ones which tend to linger on a plant’s flowers become main course meals for the Praying Mantis, a very quiet, expertly camouflaged and patient, yet very deadly and effective creature of nature’s own stealthy design.
 
The Mantis has earned its name due to the motionless, prayer-like position which it assumes with its strong front legs that are equipped with sharp barbs – limbs which stand ready to grasp a meal should one fly by – the Mantis completely blends in with its environment.
 
The one which I spotted several days ago, as I was trimming dried blossoms from one of our potted Butterfly Bushes, was mature, nearly four inches long, and virtually invisible against the backdrop of lush green leaves, waiting to pounce on the next unsuspecting flying insect that might come into its striking range.
 


Even upside down, this Praying Mantis was in position

 to capture its next meal in our back yard.

I saw it only because it moved when my trimming came too close to it for comfort.
 
And I can assure you that a Praying Mantis is highly effective.  Last fall, as I was quietly meandering from flowering plant to flowering plant – camera in hand, with an eye out for anything worthy of a photograph – I discovered one of those stealthy predators devouring a Monarch butterfly head first!
 
Thanks for reading – enjoy the remaining days of late summer. 
 
Click on any image for an enhanced view.)