I spotted this Praying Mantis on Saturday at Huntley Meadows Park as it was crawling about on a nesting box for birds in one of the remote areas of the park. I am pretty confident that the nesting box, which was used by Tree Swallows earlier in the year, was no longer in active use—otherwise the mantis probably would not have survived for long. I was struck by the size of the insect, which seemed to be about six inches (15 cm) in length.
I think this may be a Mantis religiosa, one of the more common types of mantises, though Wikipedia notes that there are over 2400 species worldwide, so I could easily be incorrect in my identification.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Wow. I have yet to shoot one. I referred tour blog in my post today.
Thanks, Victor. I’m running a bit late in getting ready for work, so haven’t yet had a chance to catch up on reading blog postings.
No problem.
Beautiful and deadly!
especially if you are a male!
He’s a beauty. I absolutely love your facial portrait of him. I’ve only managed to meet with one wild praying mantis so far and that was in Greece.
Thanks, Laura. It seems like I see one only once a year or so. I am sure they are around a lot more often, but they tend to blend in really well with their surroundings.