Here he or she is! The wonderful praying matis that actually devours bugs, especially aphids and other small stuff. I'd almost given up hope of having any in this garden because we haven't had any aphid infestations this year. But I chanced upon it on my bush zucchini plants this morning. The mantids are on the every gardener's list of the most beneficial insects. According to Sunset the native ones are somewhat rare (you can buy Chinese mantid egg cases from a garden supply) and don't account for eating a lot of bugs but there is just something wonderful about having them. They are very gentle and will rest on your hand very lightly unless they see some bugs to eat. Then they hop off and tend to business. I think this one is young since it is smallish. Hope it's a female and she has lots of babies!
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