Bug Squad

We've trained puppies to "come," "sit" and "heel." We've trained an African grey parrot to say "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty! Meow!" We've trained the kitty to ignore the parrot. But how do you train a praying mantis? You don't.

It's no secret that honey bees like the sugar/water mixture in hummingbird feeders. If there's no bee guard on the feeder or if the feeder isn't bee-proofed, bees will sip the mixture. They also will lick the spills. A sudden gust that sways or upends the feeder is "bee happy time.

It was a good day to be a praying mantis. It was not a good day to be a honey bee. Just before noon today, we watched a green praying mantis lurking in the African blue basil, like a camouflaged soldier ready to ambush the enemy.

What's this? A lady beetle, aka ladybug, sharing stories with Gulf Fritillary caterpillars? Well, not likely. The lady beetle (family Coccinellidae) preys mainly on aphids--it can eat about 50 aphids a day or some 5000 aphids in its lifetime.

He's a survivor. His sisters and brothers didn't eat him when he emerged from the egg case. In fact, he probably ate some of his brothers and sisters. He has managed to elude his predators: bats, birds and spiders. Yes, our praying mantis is very much alive and quite well, thank you.