The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

The New Hotness

  • Hawk vs. Praying Mantis

    A young Coopers Hawk swooped across the yard, landed on a branch, and proceeded to dismantle something yummy, scattering little bits on the driveway below. One piece fluttered down like a feather, but, after the hawk flew off, we found this:

    Praying Mantis - wing
    Praying Mantis – wing

    It wasn’t a feather, it was an entire wing!

    A few feet away, we found another:

    Praying Mantis - wing parts
    Praying Mantis – wing parts

    Not that there was any doubt, but these parts clinched the identification:

    Praying Mantis - foreleg and wing parts
    Praying Mantis – foreleg and wing parts

    Some days earlier, we admired eight Praying Mantises on the decorative grasses and bushes out front. Perhaps it was this one:

    Praying Mantis - brown wing covers - in grass
    Praying Mantis – brown wing covers – in grass

    Or this one, a few feet away:

    Praying Mantis - brown wing covers - on bush
    Praying Mantis – brown wing covers – on bush

    We don’t know what, if any, the difference between brown and green wing covers might indicate. Age? Gender? Attitude? Skill level?

    It’s a food chain out there!