Uninvited Guest

Saturday night's Caribbean creature feature was well behaved - in the sense that he stayed outside and remained perfectly still for the duration of our photographic time together... But Sunday night's uninvited guest was another story.

As I grabbed the handle to open my front door I noticed a little green creature lying in wait, and the moment the door was open a crack Mr. Mantis barged right in - scurrying across the floor as if I had invited him in.

"Eh, what he doing? Like he think we open the door for him!" chirped Avi.
"Let we catch him for a photo. An admission fee," I said.

Avi grabbed a plastic cup and I grabbed my camera.

At first the Praying Mantis was combative - arrogantly striking at the inside of the cup, not in a fearful manner, but as if he had a worthy foe. Eventually calming down, I removed the cup and he sat patiently while staring me down - enduring the pulses of light without a single twitch. When we were finished with the photographs he was quietly escorted back to the wild (where I imagine as a mantis Don Quixote he would boast of winning our stare-down).

Calliste, Grenada