A recent video by a West 91大黄鸭 resident of a revealed a couple of things: the praying mantis is a fierce little carnivore and they can be found in the Okanagan.
The praying mantis, or mantis religiosa, is also seen from time to time in the Shuswap.
According to the Royal BC Museum, the insect was introduced to the Okanagan and Shuswap regions in 1937 and 1938 by federal entomologists in an attempt to control a grasshopper population that was consuming agricultural crops.
Mantids largely disappeared from the region soon after, though in the 1970s a small population was found in the south Okanagan.
In the last decade, the praying mantis is reported to have spread to Kamloops and into the Kootenays.
The Royal BC Museum notes identifying characteristics of a praying mantis include a long, slender neck, spiny front legs and prominent compound eyes. Adults grow from 47 to 56 millimeters in length.
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