Praying Mantis in disguise... {NSM!}

Okay, so the Mantid doesn't really look like a Walking Stick, but that's certainly what we thought s/he was at first glance! Of course, we've seen Mantids before, so after some little observation, we quickly realized our mistake. Most of the praying mantids we've seen have been green, so you can understand our confusion. :)

We tried to pick him up in a plastic peanut butter jar, only to discover this one liked to use his/her WINGS! When flying it looked a lot like what we, when we were growing up, used to call mosquito-eaters. Praying mantids, on the contrary, when stationary, are very stately looking bugs. Calm and poised, they are pretty easy to observe. It's fun to see the little black points in their eyes follow you as they stare you down.

After 2-3 days in the plastic jar on the table for observation and a nature journaling session, we let him/her go near the place of discovery.

The {Nature Study Monday} link up is for ANY nature study-ish blog post written at any time during the current month. Which means, when you submit your link, it will show up in every. single. {NSM} post. during the whole month! Oh, and be not confused, feel free to link up on any day, be it Monday or not! (scroll down for linky).