Date: Sept. 9, 2023
Location: A flower bed in Vacaville, Calif.
Mantis: “Hi, it's me, your favorite praying mantis! I just popped in to say hello!”
Photographer: “Well, hello there, Ms. Stagmomantis limbata, but I think you have ulterior motives! You're not here to greet me and tell me to have a nice day, are you?”
Mantis: “What makes ya think that?”
Photographer: “Because you're hungry and you're an ambush predator and you're waiting to nail an unsuspecting bee or butterfly. But that's OK. Every living thing in this garden eats.”
Mantis: “Ya think?”
Photographer: “Sometimes.”
Mantis: “Well, tell me how I look.”
Photographer: “You look like your crept out of the shadows and your head is spinning in space and it somehow got detached from your body. I could ask you what motivational and existential predicaments are playing directive roles on your current behavior patterns, like I ask all my friends, but I won't. Be well.”
Mantis: “Bee? Where? Where?”
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