The picture on the left is a praying mantis, copied from Wikpedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praying_mantis. That has always been the way I have seen them in my limited experience.
This is a praying mantis, in a parking space at our local McDonald's, where we went for lunch on Saturday. My hubby saw it, and dangled his keys, at which point the mantis reared up, spread its wings and legs (arms?) out and opened its mouth threateningly. We were intrigued, so he took a picture with his cell phone. Half an hour later when we left the restaurant, a woman said, "That thing is still there. Watch what it does with the birds." Sure enough, the birds (obviously much bigger than the mantis) would swoop down toward it, but when the mantis reared up, it intimidated the birds so they flew away! What courage! What spirit! It made me feel humbled, because when I am being "attacked" (by illness, circumstances, struggles), my impulse is to moan, whine, and give up. Instead, with God on my side, I should be able to tackle anything with the same courage as the mantis. I should put this picture on my desktop or something to remind me to have courage.
(I also read an excerpt on birdwatchersdigest.com about a mantis that caught, killed and ate part of a hummingbird. Apparently they are not mild-mannered, but very predatory in fact. Amazing.)
