Mike in the Wild

As a child in suburban New Jersey in the early seventies, summer fears were numerous: shark attacks down the shore, thunderstorms that kept you housebound for longer than an hour, and going to federal prison for killing a praying mantis.   In reality, shark attacks were almost unheard of until the blockbuster "Jaws" fed the rumor they were a regular occurrence, while our neighbor's wrap-around porch provided a safe and dry playground in inclement weather.   And the idea that the praying mantis was so endangered or such a valuable tool in the fight against agricultural pests was just an urban myth.  It seems that fact wasn't disproved the same time I stopped believing in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, as I just discovered the information on Snopes.com, the well-regarded fact-checking website.  Praying mantises or mantids  show up at my Prescott home late every summer.  In fact. this past week exactly three individuals appear...