While pulling weeds early this morning, and feeling a little sorry for the pretty ones, I had the pleasure of scaring up some interesting insects. I reflected on a bumper sticker I saw yesterday in the Safeway parking lot that read "Save a bug; mount an entomologist." Turns out that the fellow who drove the car was a biology graduate of UCSB and had taken courses from a fellow zoology graduate of Tulane University who has been a professor at UCSB for a long time. We had a great time reminiscing on our associations with Dr. Armand Kuris. But, back to the topic at hand. Legs. The above grasshopper's rear legs literally glowed in the low angle of morning sunlight. They were translucent while the body was opaque and that made for a dramatic contrast.
Then I came across some very small - perhaps an inch long - Praying Mantises. They were the exact color of the dried grass, so I nearly missed them. They could have ended up in the trash can then transported to a secret place where I dumped the weeds. But I rescued them and hope they find new cover - perhaps in the weeds of the neighbor's yard.
This one was quite aware of being photographed. - seemed to be wanting a "selfie." I obliged.
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