We always called these “Praying Mantis” when I was growing up. A little research this morning tells me that we have two species in New England…European and Chinese, both introduced, and both common. The large size of the bug and length of the antennas (antenni?) make this Chinese. We found it in the lower meadows at Laudholm Farm on Saturday.  It flew in right in front of me and landed. The flight is highly distinctive and surprisingly unlike the bug when it lands. My wife did not see it land and could not find it, even though she believed me (I think) when I said it was there. 🙂

Sony HX400V at just over 1000mm equivalent field of view. ISO 200 @ 1/250th @ f6.3. Program with -1/3EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet.