Mantis reprise!

Yesterday morning as I took my dog back into the house, I noticed something (I didn't know what) on the side of my house. Lately I've had to be vigilant about whereabouts of every last stink bug in my neighborhood before opening my door, so I've paid more attention to what, exactly, is on my house.

I came back outside and crept closer. I found, to my delight, a beautiful mantis.

I hadn't seen one of these lovely creatures prior to my birthday last summer when a mantis made a fashionable entrance to my party by landing on my friend Nancy's face. Now it seems that, if I'm careful, I can spot several each year. I must live in a good place for mantises to live...

This little fella was turning orange. I don't have any idea what that means. I thought perhaps it helped him cloak himself in foliage, since that's shifting from green to red-orange-yellow-brown these days too... But I'm not sure. I already read that it's possible that this fella was a male because he was brown or that the color indicates the climate he lives in (?). I'll have to pose this question to my entomologist friend to find out the real deal.

In any case, I loved finding another mantis! They're really beautiful.