Thursday 15 October 2015

Murder in the herbaceous border

Dutch Irises
Mother Nature decided to surprise me this year and the Aquilegia that I sowed two years ago were all flowering as well as some Dutch iris bulbs that I rescued from the dump. The Irises are different shades of yellow and the Aquilegia different shades of pink and purple.

Aquilegia

While I was admiring these surprises I noticed a praying mantis eating something while perched on the branch of a rose bush. On closer inspection I saw to my horror that it was a bee and that the bee was still alive. The bee was in no position to defend itself by stinging the praying mantis. The praying mantis was eating the bee’s abdomen while the bee was wriggling, trying to get free.


The killer and the victim
Fascinated and repulsed I watched this drama unfold in the herbaceous border. On a sunny quiet Sunday morning I witnessed a murder in the herbaceous border and realised how many violent acts must be taking place on a daily basis in the cosmos of our garden.
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1 comment:

  1. Keith Loynes15 October 2015 at 16:04

    Goodness! Such a pretty scene for such a horrendous act. I had no idea that the apparently pious mantis confines this piety to mealtime grace.

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