Hitchhiker

I drove to the veterinary clinic in the nearby village of Walluf today, to stock up on the Munni-Cat's medication. The clinic was very busy, and I had to queue for about 15 minutes. When I came out and wanted to drive home, I noticed something green sitting on the hood of my car. 

At first I thought it was a big grasshopper, and got out again, to put it back in the grass. Then I realised that it was too big for a grasshopper, and I had a male mantis sitting on my car.

That was a first for me - not just a mantis on my car, but seeing one in the wild at all. They used to be very rare in Germany, occurring only in a few areas with exceptionally mild climate, like the Upper Rhine Plain. But like the wasp spider, they are moving northward with climate change. 

After I had taken a few pictures, I touched it gently, and it flew away into a nearby hedge.