While doing  yard work a couple of weeks ago, I kept a lookout for praying mantises. It didn’t take long to spot one. As a matter of fact, I saw two. They’ve been feasting on the bounty of crickets that appear each August, no doubt.

Now I’m no entomologist, but I’m pretty sure the mantis depicted in the photo above is a female mantis, given the curved thorax and symmetrical delta-shaped head. The male mantises here in southern Colorado have a much more tubular, aerodynamic body shape. They also have smaller heads. And their eyes are much more disproportionate to their heads than their female counterparts, giving the guys a near comic look.

I figure I have two more months of stalking my muse, the mantis. The cold of November will kill off the current generation. But come spring, the cycle will unfold again.