today, as we were loading up the car for tomorrow’s pennridge arts and crafts festival in sellersville, I noticed a praying mantis apparently hunting a yellowjacket in the daisies. now, I’m on team mantis because 1: I’m fascinated by them, 2: a couple of weeks ago a yellowjacket dove into my beer and stung my tongue when I drank it (it lived to tell the tale) and 3: last night I made friends with another praying mantis at an outdoor campfire watching live music. he was lurking about on an Adirondack chair. a couple of fellow campfire nerds alerted us to his presence. when I approached he started walking towards me and swaying back and forth, almost as if he was inviting me to initiate a friendship. when I came close enough he walked on to my jacket. I let him walk on to my hand (do not grab them, they are fragile), took him to the nearest bush and dropped him off there so he wouldn’t get squished by a drunk Phillies fan.

back to the present. it was fascinating to watch the mantis stalk the wasp, take his time patiently waiting for the right moment, attack it swiftly and lethally and devour it alive, eventually breaking the wasp into two pieces. a praying mantis in the northeast usually dies once the cool season arrives so I hope he enjoyed his meal at our farm to table establishment.