Ecophoto2: Blake Davis

This photo was taken on September 6th, on the stairs one of the Founders Buildings. I was walking up the stairs in Founders when I had almost touched the Praying Mantis. At first, it startled me because I did not know what it was. I have only seen a Praying Mantis a couple of times in my life, so I had to get a picture of it. I even saw another one the next day walking to class. Many of these Praying Mantis use very good camouflage when hunting. These do this to stay stealthy and to be unseen. They are good for the environment because they keep many other bug populations down. They eat other bugs like moths, grasshoppers, crickets, flies and other small bugs. They are also known to eat their own kind as well. When I did some research it said that the female ones were preparing to lay eggs in the fall before the frost. This is probably why I saw two of these cool bugs in such short time. It is very important to not kill these bugs if you see them because of the huge role they play in the food chain and regulating the population of many other smaller bugs.

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