Another view of the mantis
I thought the mantis that lived on the Pachypodium all summer was gone. Turns out he was still in the area...
...and yesterday gave me a good look at him from a different view: on the window.
I suppose it makes sense that he'd move to the house...
....as this is where the porch light is. Lots of potential food arrives here every night.
Plus there are spiders:
In fact when I last saw this guy he was moving up the window, where a reasonably sized spider was sitting.
Later I didn't see him or the spider anymore.
Just a few feet away the frog eggs in the water barrel have hatched!
The tiny tadpoles have started dispersing throughout the area, feeding on algae:
I'm a bit surprised that the fish have not eaten them all yet. Maybe they're waiting for them to get bigger? Or maybe they don't know that tadpoles are delicious food? I'm hoping.
More on this in a few days.
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Tadpoles! Lucky you. My garden must have a big "frogs stay away" sign somewhere that I can't see.
Your photos are amazing, I love the exquisite detail.
Very cool all the way around!
Great photos! The Mantis is very cool, always enjoy seeing those beasties, the lion of insects.
Cool mantis and, like Loree, I'm jealous of your tadpoles. I've got one imported frog in my garden that's been around for a few years.