Jack, I'd give you a thumbs up but those mantises freak me out. Plus, I know what happens when they mate. Yikes!

uh-oh! did mommy mantis eat her mate?

Melanie, your green spider is a lynx spider.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
They're pretty cool. I had one here last year & she placed her egg case on a zinnia bloom. She was very protective of that egg case. It's not like she threatened me or anything but she sure did guard that thing with her life.

I thought it was a Green Lynx but the ones I see are usually smaller. They're the spider I see most often, I think. They're cool as long as they're not on my host plants. Even then, I usually just pick the leaf they're on and throw it over the fence or something. Everything in its proper place (according to Melanie rules, naturally).

@dirtdorphins,
The mantis' 'goings - on' got so hot, I couldn't take any more and had to leave before the finale.

Melanie: Darwin said "God must have been inordinately fond of the Beetle" I think your long horned strippy is pretty handsome!

He wasn't causing any trouble, so I decided he could stay. Generally, I only worry about other insects on my host plants and if they're a threat to my caterpillars. Most of the time I just move things. Like I keep telling the spiders they can't build webs where I walk. So I keep knocking down their webs and they take a hint, eventually. I usually collect my caterpillars when they're eggs so I avoid a lot of predation problems in the first place.

Okay, where am I? I thought I was here but I was on another thread so I'll repeat myself:

I don't think I've ever caught them before... mantids.
(I agree with Melanie, the mantids are a bit creepy)

Here's something much more cute. Tree frog.



And I found my blue winged friend in just the right light - for just a moment.

Love seeing the native tree frogs! Dad whacked a Cuban Frog the other night. It was too high for me to get at it. And when they jump, I tend to scream.

Beautiful blue wings!!!

I don't guess I've seen a Cuban frog - so I had to go search for a look. And Melanie, I can see why you don't really like these guys too much! This site http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/... says they can be noisy like little barking dogs, prefer eating crickets but are notorious for cannibalism. Yikes! I guess they will eat the native frogs or even their own kind! And they secrete icky stuff if you touch them.

Where's the ewwww icon?

Wasp City












and, a wasp and a fly up close

They like your solidago!

I use this for all kinds of shock, including "ew!"

and then there was one...

Wasps and flies



best shot today, very windy...

umm, dare I ask what happened to the other mantis?

Robin, I was wondering if Jack found the remains. The females only eat the heads, right? Yuck!