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Keep your eyes open on your next walk through the grounds of LancasterHistory - time of year, you never know who might be watching you back. 🌼👀
By late summer, the praying mantises of the Tanger Arboretum have spent months growing - and the ones that have made it this far are now some of the Pollinator Garden’s most formidable hunters.
Both male and female mantises (in these photos, you can see the difference between the lime green males and speckled, brown females) can be spotted among the flowers this time of year, perfectly camouflaged and remarkably patient. They’ll remain almost motionless as bees, wasps, butterflies, and other insects move around them, waiting to spring their trap and devour anything that comes too close. They will even catch enormous bumblebees and wasps! And sometimes…each other 😵💫.
These mantises may look a bit creepy 👽, but they’re also a fascinating reminder of what a healthy garden supports. Pollinator gardens aren’t only places for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds - they’re living ecosystems, complete with all the drama that comes with them.
And sometimes, if you’re lucky, you catch the exact moment before the trap springs. 📸 Photos by Jason Traverse, Director of Marketing and Communications.
#lancaster #lancasterhistory #lancasterpa
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