Has the guy lost his head yet, followed by the rest of him? But, yes, wonderful pics, Carla, and great timing. I only see the big females around here, their partners, I assume, have become lunch. Diane

Hi Diane

I didn't stick around to see the tragic ending haha

Hopefully she doesn't place her egg case somewhere I am planning on pruning again this year. I hate when I'm pruning and I see I've lopped one off. And then have to try and figure out a secure place to stash it.

Carla

Good luck with that pruning, Carla. A few days ago, I was thoroughly sick of the huge invasion of yellow jackets we had this year. They hung around the hummingbird feeder constantly, and one was conveniently resting on the feeder where I could get it with my scissors, and I evilly cut the thing in two. I probably shouldn't admit to this, but the jackets have stung me many times, and I couldn't resist temptation. Diane

I've only seen one lately but it was a drab brown, not nearly as pretty as yours, which looks so attractive against the pink rose. They must have known that their picture was being taken.

Carla, what a lovely guy, great picture.

My Lavender Crush has a fuzzy visitor

Its companion Mystic Spire Sage is claimed territory by a spider

Happy weekend and happy gardening

Hey Boys!

She's single again!!

Any takers???

:)

Erasmus, what are those?

Can't we all just give these insects some privacy? Diane

Carla - great picture! So cool that you have praying mantids. :) :) I can't tell...does the male still have his head in the 2nd pic?

Diane - sounds like me cutting that 3-bee-eating crab spider in half. We're scissor sisters.

Forever - that is one seriously scary looking spider!! So beautiful, too!

Erasmus - that should be in a photo competition!! Incredible shot! And look at those antennae!!

Susan - they're some kind of moth.

Could be that the males are apt to eat the babies. So the female may be guarding the future generation. Maybe.

I doubt that's the issue. Basically, there's only one reason for the male insect to exist in the insect world, and that's to breed once. Diane

What are the white praying mantis? Just a different variety?

They are babies. The color darkens into green through the season and the old mantids are brown. Diane

Here's what I found when I googled it:

Why do females eat males after mating?In many cases, scientists believe sexual cannibalism arose from basic necessity. Expectant mothers need lots of food to sustain their children, and the males offered a nearby source of protein. For example, a study in spiders found females that ate males had larger brood sizes than those that didn't.Jun 21, 2021

Praying mantises eat only live food.

So the future generation may have something to do with it. Also, I read that the female dies soon after laying eggs. Neither one has a long lifespan.

Diane and Carol, I might as well join in the confession time… if I’m out in my garden dead-heading and I see one of those horrible Japanese Beetles, it gets beheaded by by my pruners. Deadheading, beheading, my tool works great for both.
As for Praying Mantids, I was always taught they are good bugs in the garden, until recently, when I read an article claiming they eat as many good bugs as bad ones and might not be so great after all. Shortly after I read that article, my daughter came running in from the garden all in a fury and said she saw a mantis eating a swallowtail butterfly. It certainly didn’t endear any of our family since we all love butterflies.

Judi - yes, with the spider, I thought after it caught one bumble bee...oh well, that's nature. Then it caught a 2nd one, and I was, gee, I hope it leaves bumbles alone. Then it caught a 3rd one (it was always on the same bloom) and that was it, I thought if it catches a bumble every single day, there wouldn't be many left. I would definitely behead JBs. Good going! Yeah, a mantis eating a swallowtail butterfly...ouch...not that good of a PR situation.