We found Silas the Praying Mantis outside of our front door. He's huge. I walked in the door and quietly told Cathie, "I found this praying mantis", only to hear Emily from upstairs shouting, "What! You found a praying Mantis? Can I keep it?" The girl is near-deaf at all other times when we call her to dinner, bed-time or room cleaning. Amazing what selective hearing can do.
Silas is huge. In a creepy way. He turns his head to follow your motions. He's a rather cool pet. Too bad he'll die soon. Apparently praying mantis's don't live through the winter. They're also pretty grusome creatures, hence the name Silas. The females kill the males after mating and their young eat their siblings. Wild.
We went to the pet store last night and bought some crickets to feed him. The pet store owner was telling me that we can hand feed Silas. He'll basically take the cricket from your hand and devour him live, right in front of you.
Our cat has been mesmerized by Silas. It sits next to it's cage all day long watching him. I'd like to let 'em fight it out. Maybe I'll add poison to Silas's claws to make it a little more fair. Emily took him into school today to show the class. We'll see how long it takes for Silas to die. Meanwhile, I'm hoping to get some video of him eating a cricket.
1 comment:
WOW!
That is a great name!
The name Silas is a Greek nickname for the Latin Silvanus, which means "of the forest."
He was also the albino who killed people in Da Vinci Code which revealed the truth of the catholic church.
He also is a very smart indian man that works with Dave and can make his live hell or heaven..
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