The Mantis

Apparently, there are many gardeners who wish for a praying mantis to enter their garden space so eagerly that they purchase egg kits to spur the introduction of this insect predator to their gardens.  In line with my habitat philosophy of "what happens, happens, as long as it is organic", I do not subscribe to this concept.  I have, however, seen three praying mantis on my property.

Most people want this insect predator to wipe out harmful pests, and the mantis excels at that-so much so that they wipe out beneficial insects like bees and butterflies.  It actually crossed my mind to terminate the mantis to protect the pollinators who visit my pollinator space, but in line with the same philosophy that forced me to not introduce the mantis I decided that nature is nature and I will just have to have as much pollinator friendly resources to create a numbers game.  It really does all start with the plants.  The plants are completely critical to everything and if this mantis has a reason to prey near the plants on my area it means the ecosystem is being rebuilt sustainably.  I will take it as a win, though am hoping for the best for the butterflies I have seen recently.

Update:  I messed up, poorly.  After planting some purple coneflower plants I managed to attract some butterflies that enjoyed the plants.  I had enjoyed watching the butterflies park on the coneflowers, absorbing the nectar and slightly moving their wings.  They were all monarchs, a lovely sight.  I watched and enjoyed this for a few days.

Yesterday, I went to check on the plants and I saw a monarch wing that was not flapping at all, it didn't look quite right.  A mantis was eating the butterfly.  The mantis could not camouflage purple of course, but was rather a shade of brown.  I became emotional and acted irrationally.  Logic said to leave it be, that I was not the one who should intervene and decide the course of the situation, the course of my micro-ecosystem.  But, it so annoyed me that the mantis crushed the butterfly and my enjoyment that I went to my kitchen, grabbed a pair of scissors and then proceeded to cut off the head of the mantis.  It was so stupid and I will not make the mistake again.

The mantis fought anyway, and its body seemed to live for hours after its decapitation.  I looked up close at its front claws-it is easy to see why the mantis is an efficient predator, it is very effective at using its front claws to seize and control prey.

I took the remnants of the butterfly-its wings and most of its torso and placed them in a plastic bag.  I seriously will not make that mistake again, I hope the emotion is drained from my system and my ecosystem.