I met this summer's generation today, but I nearly gave the poor thing a heart attack. I was pulling weeds and nearly crushed her (him?). It took about a half an hour before she stopped flashing her wings at me and let me hold her.
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2 comments:
Oh dear that's crazy! She let you hold her?!? She looks rather friendly but she'd probably scare the crap out of ME!
Mantises are remarkably social or at least tolerant. If you are slow, gentle and persistent you can get them to walk on you. They seem to be interested in keeping an eye on the giant walking around and what better place than riding on your hand?
Check out my son holding this same mantis.
If you grab a mantis (cup your hands over it or pinch it) or reach out while it is doing an aggressive display (spreading her front legs and spreading out all her wings), then you could be asking for a clawed hand. It's mild though and no poison, so even that isn't to be feared.
They seem so intelligent and cool, I can't be scared of them. You just need a few friendly encounters. ;)
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