Allie was my second mantis and my all time favorite. I found her in the thyme bushes outside my grandmother's house. Allie was big, green and assertive. In fact, she had this disturbing habit of grabbing hold of my finger every time I tried to pick her up - and those claws were shockingly strong - and trying to eat it. She'd come down towards my skin chewing on the air in anticipation, and I'd slide a fingernail on my other hand in her way. She couldn't bite through that, so she'd just chew for a while and then back off.
To be honest, I think I favored her specifically for her aggression. I've never had another mantis quite so vengeful.
One time, I took Allie, Helen and Leafers, the 2017 green girls, out of their cages and placed them on the floor. A few minutes later, I tossed Helen and Leafers back into their cages and went off to do something else. I thought I'd gotten Allie, too, but as it turned out when I got back, I actually hadn't. I looked and looked for her in her cage, because it was partially green and she tended to blend in, and she just wasn't there.
I was searching frantically for her, and then Mom looked up and found her standing upside down on the ceiling. I shoulda known.
Allie died sometime before Halloween 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment