Mantis and Cactus Flowers

Tags

animals, cactus, flower, Mantis, memoir, nature, wildlife

Today is the first day we’ve seen the cactus in the front yard burst into bloom overnight. Perhaps it liked the rain we got yesterday. To make the event more rare, we have never seen a preying mantis here in the urban desert either. But this morning, when we stopped to admire the flowers, one tiny mantis had already staked a claim to them.

We suppose if the flowers attract ants, bees, and other pollinators, then this is the mantis version of a hunting shanty or hidden fishing hole. Maybe the mantis will chop the heads off little bugs and stick them on the cactus spikes like trophies. How awesome would that be? We’ll check in on mantis later and see how the hunt goes.

Oops, we disturbed the mantis. See how it moves down into the spikes? Smart thinking, mantis. Now sit still!

The Greatest of These is Love!

Tags

Avengers, funeral, Hawkeye, kang, Mantis, mantis origin, Thor

We previously shared a splash panel and a Doc Ock value stamp from this issue. But, Avengers #130 has a couple other interesting pages worth salvaging from the beat up copy we found. At the Swordsman’s funeral, Thor — a Norse god — eulogizes his departed comrade with words from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. A few pages later, Hawkeye gives an honest reaction to the origin of Mantis. It’s more than a little like Miracleman’s wife’s reaction to his “bloody stupid” origin.

Collector’s Guide: From Avengers #130. Reprinted in Essential Avengers TPB #6 (but not with the value stamp!).