Preying Mantis

Did you ever see a Preying Mantis? I have had a broom fight on my terrace with one, rather larger than the one you see here. They love to box and defend their territory..You don't mess with them!

Izzy spotted this guy yesterday eating a fly.... :-(

Today...he was very alone, but totally in control of his space. As we watched him and tried to capture his anger through the cameras, he looked back at us and denied us a full frontal...his head rotated and confronted us from all angles - yes he freaked us out!

How can a small creature be in control to such a degree?