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In the medieval garden of the Pedralbes monastery in Barcelona there was a praying mantis. It has allowed me to hold it in my hand, contemplate it in detail and whisper a few words to calm it down.
Later, to prepare this photographic report for La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos, I placed it in a lavender flower. It had been years since I had the chance to see her, much less up close. It was too big.
They told me it was the female. At the end of the photo session I put it in the flowers. It has been a nice experience to interact in this way, so close, with her.
An aspect that draws attention to the praying mantis is its gaze, which I have been able to portray. Her eyes are aesthetically extraordinary, but they are even more so when we know how they work. And, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology, praying mantises have a unique ability to see in 3D.
This type of vision, known as stereopsis, is how creatures with binocular vision produce depth perception when they are observing the world. Is this how she looked to me while I had her perched in the palm of my hand?
The researchers found that the mantis "detects depth in images of random points that lack interocular correlation."
Studying how praying mantis eyes work may help develop "robot eyes," or artificial intelligence vision, more effectively, according to the study's authors.
I have to say that, after making the first photographic report, I saw the praying mantis again in the garden of the Pedralbes monastery.
I was sad to see that he had a sick front leg, it seemed dry. In these other photographs you can see it. Too bad I don't know how to cure it. I left her perched on the leaves of a tree. Can she live in these circumstances?
The praying mantis has left us one last pearl of farewell before dying, a beautiful ending, with these detailed photographs with a drop from its mouth, in which the cloister of the 14th century Pedralbes monastery is reflected. An infinite beauty.
