Bug photography continues, and I got spooked by a praying mantis. If you’re wondering why the photo is a bit fuzzy, it’s because of the spook effect.
I’ve become very accustomed to photographing spiders and millipedes, which generally cannot perceive me visually. I just exist as something that produces motion and sound for them, and they’re all reliably seeing me as something like a part of their environment, and not a fellow creature.
A praying mantis can see me – in stereo, no less – and it’s armored and capable of flight.
This specimen was facing forward, right up until I started taking the actual photo, and then its head suddenly snapped to face the camera. I think it can see lidar from the phone’s rangefinder? Anyway, I would ask the mantis to maybe not do that in the future, please, because I am not used to being perceived, and fixing me in stereo is one more step along the target acquisition process.
EDIT: Apparently my phone doesn’t use lidar for rangefinding. I have no idea why the mantis looked at me in that moment in particular.
Image description: A pale, yellow-green praying mantis stands on the side of a wooden beam, claws held forward, but with its face rotated toward the camera, examining the viewer in return.
Anyway, the praying mantis is a wonderful creature, but I’ll admit I might strongly prefer to continue photographing millipedes and spiders, thanks.
Orb weaver news: She’s gone. 
I don’t know where she went. I didn’t see her in any of her fallback safety locations. She might have moved on, or gotten eaten by a lizard.
The large funnel weaver also was not in her home, though I did see a large webbed sack in her place, so she might be sleeping in that. I do know some spiders weave sleeping bags for themselves, though I’m not sure if this species does that, in particular.