Old Mantis

I was walking around my garden with my (then) new 60mm macro lens, looking for critters to get close to, but November isn’t such a great time for finding bugs.

However, Japan is still fairly mild this late in the year, and so some insect life lingers on much later than it would in Europe.

Luckily I found this ageing mantis clinging stubbornly to the side of my house.

I love these crusty old things – they’re quite an oddity for me, since they don’t exist in my native country, and the first time I saw one I was considerably freaked out. However, I soon grew to like these incongruous stick-like beasts and always make a point of rescuing any I find in peril.

It’s a good job I like them, really, since my 60mm lens requires that I get only a few centimetres away from my subject for full 1:1 reproduction.

“Old Mantis” : Hiroshima, 10th November