Praying mantis

This afternoon the small group ministry of our church sponsored a fall picnic. The weather was great and the turnout was terrific. It was a fun afternoon: good food, good friends, good fellowship, and some good bluegrass music. We also had a nature walk led by a naturalist from the metroparks who brought along this praying mantis, saying she thought it was appropriate for a church picnic. As you can probably guess from her appearance, it is a pregnant praying mantis. Unfortunately, with winter coming, she won't live much past the birth of her offspring. After we all got a good close up look at her, the naturalist released her onto some weeds, and we continued our walk.