So this creepy guy was trying to hitch a ride...
September 3, 2014 7:31 PM Subscribe
I went to get in my Mini Cooper this morning, and when I looked over at my side view mirror, the biggest grasshopper/cricket/alien/praying mantis was staring me down.
I Googled all of them, but he doesn't seem to match any pics. Here definitely closer than he needed to appear, another, and one more. His full body length took up the entire height of the mirror and he hung on for quite a while before falling off (my kids screaming the whole time).
Any ideas? Are there an army of them hiding outside (and are they going to come back and kill me in my sleep for knocking this guy off)?
I Googled all of them, but he doesn't seem to match any pics. Here definitely closer than he needed to appear, another, and one more. His full body length took up the entire height of the mirror and he hung on for quite a while before falling off (my kids screaming the whole time).
Any ideas? Are there an army of them hiding outside (and are they going to come back and kill me in my sleep for knocking this guy off)?
If your location in your profile is accurate, I live just blocks away from you. I had one of those on my car a couple of weeks ago. My daughter (a junior entomologist at the Insectarium) tried to pick it up to put it on a bush before we drove away. It jumped and parkoured off of her face back onto the car. It got to take its chances when we drove away after that. She said it was a mantis.
posted by artychoke at 7:38 PM on September 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by artychoke at 7:38 PM on September 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
Oh man, normally I have a weird soft spot for praying mantises but that is one freaky ass bug right there. 😱
posted by Hermione Granger at 7:39 PM on September 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Hermione Granger at 7:39 PM on September 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
Best answer: It's a praying mantis. No need to worry, they prefer to eat other insects. Well, the female does sometimes enjoy a tasty male after mating.
posted by plastic_animals at 7:39 PM on September 3, 2014
posted by plastic_animals at 7:39 PM on September 3, 2014
No, I live nowhere near you. I don't know whose location I clicked on before...
posted by artychoke at 7:42 PM on September 3, 2014
posted by artychoke at 7:42 PM on September 3, 2014
Response by poster: His front legs were long and skinny and not 'wide' with the spiny things on them (like blades of grass??) like the praying mantis pics I've been able to pull up. He also wasn't entirely green - his body was kind of brownish grey. I originally thought that's what he was, too. Maybe they weren't developed or were torn off?
posted by dancinglamb at 7:43 PM on September 3, 2014
posted by dancinglamb at 7:43 PM on September 3, 2014
Best answer: Mantises vary a lot in body shape and coloration, but there's nothing else that critter could possibly be.
posted by contraption at 7:47 PM on September 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by contraption at 7:47 PM on September 3, 2014 [3 favorites]
Best answer: When I click the magnifying glass onto the first picture, I see the spiny wider folded mantis hands. The angle and focus on the other two don't allow for the same level of clarity though I can make out very blurry spines on the third as well.
Definitely a mantis.
posted by vegartanipla at 7:48 PM on September 3, 2014
Definitely a mantis.
posted by vegartanipla at 7:48 PM on September 3, 2014
That is so definitely a mantis.
Mantises are so cool! Especially the big guys. They're one of the best creatures to have around your home for controlling various pests.
Obligatory.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:11 AM on September 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
Mantises are so cool! Especially the big guys. They're one of the best creatures to have around your home for controlling various pests.
Obligatory.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:11 AM on September 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by xingcat at 7:35 PM on September 3, 2014 [2 favorites]