Okay y'all, while the Praying Mantid is a common 'good bug' in the Pacific Northwest, I have *never* seen one in real life!
Thanks to my sweetheart's fascination with observing the bug life in our gardens over the years, it's made me much more mindful and curious about the huge variety of visitors to our garden, particularly here in the Skagit Valley where the diversity blows the other places (Willamette Valley, Oregon Coast, Puget Sound) we've lived here in the Northwest...by far. He's got the patience to sit and watch, and that keen observation is what led him to notice this praying mantid hanging out near one of our raised beds, quietly waiting to snatch some flies that approached. It. Was. SO. Cool!!!!!!!
While he initially snagged some shots on his cell phone, I brought out my Cool Camera for him to take some more photos with it, and these four were the best perspectives on this caterpillar- and fly-eating good bug (check out the slideshow below for the other three).
Don't kill these ones, folks! While sometimes they like to snag some of our fellow beneficials, they are not garden-destroyers, and are super fascinating to watch.
Only took 50 years to notice one...who knows what I'll discover next thanks to the observant eye of my honey!
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