Day 187: Unexpected Guest on My Bike

After doing an errand in the late afternoon today, I locked my bike to the rack outside the CPCA building rather than taking the time to go back into the nearby parking garage, knowing that I'd be leaving again in about 30 minutes or so.  I expected that I might have some unwelcome critters on my bike by the time I was heading home (i.e. stink bugs, since they've been so prolific lately), so I was quite surprised and pleased to find an entirely different unexpected guest on the frame of my bike when I went to unlock it -- an elegant little praying mantis:

It was a wee bit challenging to convince this guy to relocate, as he was very fond of the narrow areas on my bike, such as the break lines and lock cables.  However, I was finally able to convince him to grasp onto the bike lock cable so that I could then transfer him gently to the grassy ground nearby.

Mr. E and I have had the occasional praying mantis pay us a visit out on the patio, but I'd never had one try to hitch a ride on my bike before!