Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Calling All Gardeners: Name That Bug

Once again, I am stumped by my own back yard. My readers have helped me identify flowers and vegetables and now I need help identifying a bug.

As I was working in my yard, I noticed a cardinal flapping around on the ground. At first I thought it was injured, because it was really chirping and flapping his wings. But upon closer inspection, it wasn't injured at all, he was squawking at a bug.

It actually looked like they were fighting. I don't know if the Cardinal was trying to eat the bug, but I was able to get fairly close to them and the Cardinal didn't fly away.

I grabbed my camera and got a few shots. If you look closely you'll see a green bug in front of the Cardinal.



Eventually the Cardinal left and I got a closer picture of the bug. At first I thought it was a Praying Mantis, but when I googled for images online, I'm not so sure it is. This bug had quite a wing span and the pictures I found online didn't show that.


Does anyone have a clue what kind of bug this is? Please let us know in the comments.


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13 comments:

  1. That is a praying mantis! They are feisty meat eaters. Actually really cool bugs but kind of scary. I believe they eat flies and such so don't kill it.

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  2. @R Ward ~ I would never think of killing it.

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  3. Definitly praying mantis - great to control other pests.

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  4. Yup, It's a Praying Mantis. The reason it looks so odd is that the bird got in a few nips & pulled the PM's wings out of wack. Usually the wings are stashed under the green wing covers on the body but since the bird damaged them it looks odd.
    Juat a side note, Praying Mantis are quite voracious, they can even catch & eat hummingbirds. Here's a link to the article: http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyardbirds/hummingbirds/mantis-hummer.aspx

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  5. praying mantis! Be sure that the kids get to see it... And learn that it's a 'good insect.' Have you seen a 'walking stick' yet? Another cool surprise. (smaller than the PM)

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  6. I love it when a science lesson just flies into the yard!

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  7. Wow! That's a big bug! Cool-looking though, and nice to have captured a photo! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. another vote for a praying mantis! I've never seen one in person myself, but I have read that they are very beneficial to have around in your garden.

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  9. A Praying Mantis for sure… the size of it makes me think it is a female (they are much larger than the males). Very cool - Thanks for sharing!

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  10. No clue about the bug, I'm impressed by the cardinal. I have never seen one as they don't come this far west.

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  11. Seems like you have some great little any animals and insects that live in your yard. Some amazing photographs too to say the least

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  12. I love it when the mantises are in the garden- they are the coolest, freakiest bugs. I'm sure glad they're good ones. :-)

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  13. Definitely a praying mantis!! They are strictly carnivores, even known to eat small birds!!

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