Last week I sold my patio set that I detested for the same price that I paid for it over a year ago.  It was like I rented it for free for a year.  Or you could look at it like I owned something for a year that I disliked intensely.  It was a high-top table and I felt like a kindergartner because my legs and feet dangled off of the ground and I’m 5’6″.

Anyway, when the people showed up at our house to pick it up the man said he was trying to catch the praying mantis that he saw in our oak tree because he wanted to take it home with him.  Well, I thought that was pretty strange.  First, while I think they are really cool looking, I am not going to try to pick one up.  Second, why would you try to steal my praying mantis out of my yard and then tell me about it?

I must have been projecting my thoughts because he explained that praying mantis’, mantises, mantes? are considered good luck.  When I laughed he looked steadily at me and said “I’m serious, do you know how rare it is to see one of these thing’s now?”  And I thought to myself, uhmm, no I don’t because there is always one on my front door, or my oak tree or outside my office door, or climbing on batman’s head (not the cat, the other batman) or landing on Denton when he is on a train at work.  Actually I must have said this out loud because his eyes just about bugged out of his head and said “Wow, you people must be really lucky.”

Needless to say, I had no idea that they are considered good luck.  Did you know this fascinating fact?  Here are a few other fascinating facts to intrigue your mind this morning.

• Did you know that the life span of a praying mantis is only 12 months.  Four to eight WEEKS for the small species!
• In France, people believed a praying mantis would point a lost child home.
• In Africa it was believed that they could bring people back from the dead.
• Gardeners may or may not like them, because they will eat any insect that they can catch.  Beneficial insects or not.
• And last but not least, the females will kill and eat their mates while reproducing.

Wow, Ok then.

So, are we really, really lucky people because the praying mantis population adores us and our home or do you think that they just like the habitat in my oak tree?  Inquiring minds want to know.

And if you would like to read about our other encounters with strange bugs and animals you can find them right here, here, here and here.