I know my garlic chives are not succulents or cacti, but you gotta respect the lady mantis....or else. We are all gardeners, right?

This one has been on my garlic chives (in the same 4 inch radius) for nearly 2 months. She's a beauty. About a week and a half ago Mr. Mantis showed up on the opposite side of the bowl. He took his time. He watched a show-down with a June Bug (which the June Bug lost, when a WHACK like a baseball bat on metal knocked him for a loop). He considered turning back when she tried to scare off a hummingbird by standing up and spreading her forelegs, but then saw an opportunity to move in while she was distracted by a sudden southern California thunderstorm at the beginning of the week. .

Yesterday he was down inside the chives, hiding. We laughed that he was trying to make his move. He was. This morning he was nowhere to be seen. At noon she was sunning herself and I gave her a misting (she loves it, washes her face with it), and at 1:15 he leaped! Presently she is preparing for decapitation and exsanguination! Poor guy. Now I'm hoping for a successful egg and incubation. I have 2 other mantises (male and female) on my tiny porch garden, hoping they will make baby mantises, too!