Keegan the Praying Mantis

Keegan the Praying Mantis

As Mike and I were sipping our lunchtime drinks sitting outside under the shade of the patio sunshade we looked up and there was Keegan.

“Gosh that's a big grasshopper” Mike said , Then when he looked again he said “Oh no it's not. It's a praying mantis.”

Now we don't get to see these a great deal just once in a while but usually in the Autumn. Imagine this creature 20 sizes enlarged and you have the perfect creepy Halloween creature! From where we sat we could see his long body shaped like a wine bottle with a long neck and on top of that was this thin neck with a hammer shaped head with bulging eyes. Add to that his long arms with pincer type claws on front and the very peculiar way he walks and you have one strange creature!

We watched as he very slowly came down one of the the spokes of the sunshade. He was upside down so we wondered why Keegan didn’t fall off. His body looks really big compared to his scrawny 4 legs. He is really defying gravity. Does he have suckers on his feet? We couldn't see any. As if he realized we were discussing him he arduously re-climbed the spoke with occasional stares at each of us. Then he started down on the next spoke of the sunshade. Again the wobbly meandering downwards walk and then another stop.

“You know” I said , “I think this is the same creature I got out of the dog's drinking bowl just yesterday. I thought he was dead but obviously he has come back to life.

Yes truly a Halloween creature.

PS Mike says you have to be a golfing fan to know why he is called Keegan