Chinese Mantid

In my earlier post, I wrote about the rain and how I had been waiting for the salmon runs to begin, especially on the Smith River. But now the rain has flooded most of the coastal rivers, and I have been staying warm and dry in my office. Editing.

Current image folder: Chinese Mantid, or praying mantis. These can be found in Oregon every year, but they are not native. They were imported from China around 1896, and have flourished in the eastern part of the US. Many gardeners in the Northwest order chiniese mantids to control garden pests.

They grow quite large – five inches long. Some mantids can fly, others cannot. Chinese mantids can burst into flight which can be quite surprising, since when their wings are folded away, it is hard to see that they have wings at all.