Flea Beetle Attack and one lone superhero

Although they are tall and strong, my eggplants are once again being attacked by flea beetles.

You can see two of the little buggers and the damage they cause on this leaf! Frustrating.

The damage isn't plant threatening at this stage, but I have been spraying insecticidal soap on them to help them survive. I'm not a big fan of sprays, even organic ones, but it is better than losing a plant to bugs.

But this evening when I went to spray, I noticed a garden super hero hanging out on my eggplants - a small praying mantis.  I put the spray away. He's welcome to stay and munch as many bad bugs as he wants. My hero!