A mantis has made its home on the borage in my garden. I use the app iNaturalist to help me identify plants and animals, but even with the app’s help I’m not certain which species of mantis it is. I think it’s either a European mantis (Mantis religiosa) or a California mantis (Stagmomantis californica).

Regardless I’ve been compulsively checking on it a few times every day. And then one day I caught it eating a bee for lunch, so now I’m even more obsessed with looking to see what it’s up to.

Warning: the videos below are of the mantis eating a bee. First it eats then bee in half and then devours each half!