THERMOPOLIS — Kids here know that if they catch an interesting insect or reptile, bring it to Kathy Sorensen for a photo shoot.

Local 4-H kid Hoyt Peil caught a white praying mantis during the Wyoming State Fair in Douglas, which he made sure to feed and keep safe. He couldn’t wait to bring it to Sorensen, who enthusiastically welcomed the little creature.

“I’m an advocate for all the things people hate,” Sorensen said. “I like snakes, bugs and I love a skunk. Skunks are helpful and will eat anything. They’ll eat a mouse if they get their hands on it.”

She has been known to take in wild animals such as raccoon cubs that need foster care and has had a few skunks over the years.

She pays close attention to the details of the smaller creatures that flit around her in nature, whether it’s a cat-faced spider or a cinnamon-colored skunk.

He was recently sitting at a picnic table in Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis when one such creature caught his eye.

Sorensen took his Canon camera out of its case, almost absent-mindedly putting on a lens.

As if knowing it was going to get the attention it deserved, a squirrel climbed down a nearby tree and stretched out just a few feet away, staring at Sorenson with its wide eyes.

Sorensen looked back at him, and then the squirrel, unflinching, fixed his attention on Frankie, a small mutt mixed with Maltese, Yorkie and mini-goldendoodle. After snapping a few photos, Sorenson put his camera down and smiled.

“I’m convinced the squirrel is trying to bait my dog ​​into chasing it,” she said. “They can be funny creatures.”

Nun

The praying mantis that Peil caught was just one of the latest creepy things to capture Sorensen’s attention.

She was excited to set up a photo shoot, but before she could plan, her praying mantis collection began to grow.

“One of them was in my husband’s office,” she said. “There is a hole in his window and it was on his desk and he asked me what he should do with it. And I said, “You should put it very carefully in a container and bring it to me.”

“And he asked, ‘Why carefully?’ I said, “They’re going to bite you and it’s going to hurt.”

She warns that the praying mantis can bite and should be handled with care.

“They’ll eat a whole grasshopper,” she said. “It leaves no pieces. They will eat through the exoskeleton, just like corn on the cob. It’s the funnest thing to watch.”

Once word spread that these insects were around, Sorenson began receiving stories about them from others who had never seen them before.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” she said. “A guy went up to Mount Lysite and found a pure white one. So strange. Most of the ones we find now are not native to America.

“There are only a handful of praying mantises that are native to the United States, and only a few of those range into Wyoming. We generally don’t see them because they’re smaller.”

By the time Sorensen was ready to take pictures of her praying mantis, she had three.

“I’m pretty sure the two females were Chinese,” she said. “European praying mantises were introduced in the 1800s, so they are somewhat naturalized. The Chinese are the really big ones, and those are the ones they consider very invasive, because not only will they eat your bugs, but in some places, they get big enough to eat snakes, hummingbirds and frogs.”

Many of Wyoming’s praying mantises were introduced by gardeners who thought they would help eliminate insects naturally.

Unfortunately, these non-native bugs also eat the good bugs.

Passion for photos

Sorenson explains his hobby in just a few words.

“I love taking pictures of bugs,” she said. “Most people go, ick, but I think I’m cool. I can find lots of spiders and bees, because who doesn’t love a good bee? However, I do not make grasshoppers.”

To take the praying mantis photos and capture the details that fascinate her, Sorenson placed them in a photo box with freshly picked flowers.

“I thought it was pretty manageable because I thought they would stay on the flower,” Sorensen said, describing the long-awaited photo shoot. “The two females did, because they are really too heavy to fly until they are adults and their wings won’t carry them very far.

“The male one, however, flew a lot. It’s very alarming to have one right in front of you.”

For now, Sorensen’s creature photo shoots are a hobby he enjoys as he continues his crusade to protect the often misappreciated creatures around us.

Defending the misunderstood

“I think bugs are underappreciated,” she said. “They do so much for us. They pollinate, provide a food source for so many other animals. If we don’t have bugs, we don’t have an ecosystem. You don’t have a fishery if you don’t have those aquatic insects.”

She admits that not everyone will find the same enthusiasm for insects and reptiles that she does. They have their own passions, but for Sorensen, these little creatures are the ones most people avoid and the ones she will continue to seek out.

Contact Jackie Dorothy at [email protected]

Jackie Dorothy can be contacted at [email protected].