Our furry friends continue to be on an extended hiatus, we have the opportunity to focus the spotlight on others. Without question, our attention often focus on the larger critters on campus, the turtles, deer, possums, and so forth, but what about the smaller ones? Now, we're not talking red squirrels, chipmunks and the like. Rather, we're talking about those critters with multiple legs and antenna... insects! Recently, a praying mantis, or mantid, was spotted on Steds. Flying about like a butterfly and after making a few circle around the photographer, the mantis came to rest on the building. Praying? We think not. Rather, it was probably preying on something that it spied. There are approximately two thousand mantid species worldwide with the majority being found in Asia. About twenty species are native to the USA. These insects are notorious predators and their name is sometime mistakenly spelled "preying mantis" which is incorrect. They are in fact named for the typical "prayer-like" stance. On spotting a praying mantis on Steds, Fr. Terry Ehrman, CSC, theologian and botanist, said, "While this praying mantis is preying, did we pray today?"
BUT THERE'S STILL MORE...
