A praying mantis, innocently lurking on one of my Just Joey roses caught my eye Tuesday morning. I got my camera and tripod but the breeze was a little too much to get a decent photo with the macro lens so I clipped the rose, put it in a vase, brought it inside and photographed it inside. My houseguest, Susan, helped by holding the flash and I took a few shots but I was worried that the mantis might fly off or crawl away. The mantis was quite active during the few minutes he was inside but he did stop long enough for me to determine that it has a compound eye, with a grid-like covering. After the portrait session, Susan took it back outside and it climbed back onto the rosebush to continue its quest for prey.
Any closeups of the eyes?!
Delightful little guy.
Fabulous closeup! He’s cute!