While out surveying my domain (the back yard), I was gazing upon my fig tree with a delightful sight!  I saw this under a leaf  towards the top of the tree.

louva-a-deus!  Majestic. Love these creatures, we dont have many of them up here in Seattle.

They are cool looking aren't they? And they make good garden watchdogs.

one or two drop by now and then, but never sticks around. i'm thinking about getting some helpful insects next spring. might be nice to see then guarding my fig trees.

I hatched about 225 of them all cute little guys over 5 months ago I havent seen one yet other then when I let them go.....Bummer:(

I buy Mantis egg cases every spring, put them in a mesh bag and when they hatch, my son and I release them in different areas of our yard. My son loves to do this even though the baby mantis's could just as easily go on their own.

It was a surprise to see it.  How many people look up a tree to see the undersides of the leaves;) It was about 7' up.   I have never seen one in the garden before this so I was quite happy.  Maybe all the gnats attracted it.  For whatever reason, it brought a smile to my face ;)

I looked for it today before I left for work - it was on another branch!  Maybe it is eating the gnats - they are so annoying to look at!!

Bobby,
Lady Bugs are also a good one to have in the garden. they love to feed on aphids.