Margaret Neville lives on a farm in South Africa and loves nothing so much as walking around. Natural life is easy for her. However, she noticed something unusual. As she passed her lavender bush, she saw an insect. But it was not an ugly bug, it was beautiful. At first, she could not believe it was real!
“I was surprised at first sight,” she said.
“When I saw it, I thought it was an exquisite work of art,” said Kerri Martinaglia, a friend of Margaret’s.
The body of the insect looks almost like glass. But, a beautiful swirl adorns its incredible green wings. However, what most people see is the beautiful pink bumps. They look like little pink flower buds on the paws and body of the insect.
Margaret discovered that it was a floral mantis. A kind of mantis camouflaged in the flowers. Everything is self explanatory, but the unexpected beauty surprised Margaret. Before putting it back in the lavender, she called her beautiful insect Miss Frilly.
“She spent the whole month of September in my lavender,” said Margaret. “She’s still here now.”
Recently, Miss Frilly has found a male suitor and Margaret hopes she will bring more beauty to our world.
