This year I have spent a lot of time taking pictures of my flowers. Of course, I am always looking for interesting fauna as well.

Last week I was able to capture some pictures of little praying mantises.

This picture is really zoomed in, but here you can see two praying mantises. while I was taking the picture I saw some movement and decided to take a closer look.

I was able to get a few good pictures of a tiny praying mantis.

I have seen praying mantis in my garden before, but never this small.

I will have to watch out to see if I can see these little ones again.

Look how tiny they are. They would be able to perch on my fingertip.

You can see some aphids on the underside of the flower above.

Praying mantis are neutral when it comes to pest control as they eat both good and bad bugs.

I have seen less aphids on my roses this year, and have seen only a few lady bugs.  Perhaps the praying mantises are keep the aphids in check.

Have you seen praying mantis this small?

Steven