The Praying Mantis - A True Story

A Praying Mantis True Story

The other day I was about to go into my apartment when I saw something on the door frame near the floor out of the corner of my eye.  Upon looking closer, I realized I was staring at a praying mantis.  The window in the hallway nearby has been open most of the summer, and occasionally a fly or two will wander in.  We even had a white pigeon one year fly in and spend its days on the stairway railing across from the open window.  When winter came, this lone pigeon could be seen curled up on the ledge right outside the closed window.  It was living either right outside the hall window, or in the summer, inside on the stairway railing when no neighbors came out to shoo it away.

The praying mantis was different though.  I had been going through a hard time since my sister died of colon cancer last year.  Things had been falling apart between family members, and no one knew what to do with themselves when a person who was so recently in their lives for their entire life, is now gone.

The praying mantis did not budge as I unlocked the front door.  It hung upside down near the bottom of the door frame, blind to the miseries of the world.  Its color was woody with one green area.  I googled "praying mantis" , and found it was probably a Chinese mantis.  I found out there are a bunch of different kinds of these creatures.  The Chinese mantis came to North America from Asia through international industry and shipping, and has since made a comfortable home here.  But in an urban apartment building?

The yard in front of the building has seen a real renaissance since the building owner's gardeners have done such a wonderful job planting a variety of bushes and new greenery.  Mayor Bloomberg did a wonderful job greening the city and we even had new trees planted in our outback in Brooklyn.  We now hear peepers and grasshoppers making their wonderful sounds at night, sounds that country people may take for granted, but a city girl like me really appreciates.  Of course, no on appreciates the sounds of buzzing mosquitoes or the pinch of a red ant.  Luckily I haven't encountered too many of those this year.

I took out my cell phone camera and photographed the mantis, but the photos didn't come out great because the door frame is a similar color to the mantis and it was blending in really well.

I took one of my many house plants and put it outside in the hallway under the mantis, after watering it profusely.  The weather has been dry lately and I thought, if the praying mantis is thirsty, it can lap the droplets off of the leaves of the plant.  After a couple of hours of being indoors, preparing dinner and then washing up, I went out to check and see if the praying mantis was still there.  It was, and it had moved up about half a foot, still on the door frame, but was now perched on the side of the door frame instead of the front of it.  In other words, it was very close to where the door would meet the frame, luckily not near enough where it would be hurt upon my opening or closing the door..

It has now been 2 days and the praying mantis has moved around since then, always on the door frame, up, down, front, across, and even once on the door knob.  I decided I couldn't disturb it then and went out for coffee.  When I returned it was off the knob and back on the frame but parallel to the door knob.  I "asked" it if it wanted to come in and visit - was this the way praying mantisses hint that they want company?  But it didn't budge.  Every few hours I would check on it and it would have moved somewhere else on the frame, perched with either its eyes toward the ceiling and or facing down toward the floor as when I first spotted it.  But I never caught it in the act of moving.

So just letting you know I have a new pet.  I hope the praying mantis sticks around for awhile.  It has been very entertaining watching.  I googled and read that praying mantises only eat live insects, and in general, bugs and insects give me the heebee geebees, so I would not be able to get it food unless it was from a pet store.  I am hoping it will find its way back out the open window, or I may have to gingerly put it in a jar with holes, and return it to the front garden.  Until then, I'm enjoying this welcome and unexpected visit from one of nature's beautiful creatures.  When one door closes, a praying mantis just may be at your open door, to take your mind away from life's hard knocks.