For several days, we at 17 Howland Street have had as guest a real live praying mantis. This is the being that the French call “mante religieuse.” How he affixed himself to the wall on our front porch baffles us householders.

After some hours of residency, he moved slightly to another position on the wall. After he remained there for much of the first day, we thought he might be dead. But, no, he was alive enough to disappear for the night. Since it was cold, we thought it might be his last night in this world.

However, he came back again, ready for perhaps a longer stay than we imagined. Presumably he has preyed on other small creatures sufficiently to have prepared his stomach for extending his guest status. We feel honored at being favored as his home, especially since no other site on our street seems to have acted as a kind of motel for this never-before-seen-by-us creature.

Since we need all he prayers we can get, this mysterious creature is welcome to stay as long as he wants.