Did you know that in nature, the rat and the mantis have the closest of alliances? The rat stalks and corners the prey (often a small bird or frog), and "marks" it with its scent glands. After following the scent with its large, powerful nose, the mantis' uses its long adhesive tongue to quickly "tie up" the prey while the rat sucks out its insides. Finally, the mantis digests the "leftover" bones and skin using its four stomachs.
Anyway, a similar mutuality occurs in the Blogosphere, when a mantis links to the blog of a rat, especially one that has scent-marked several items of interest already.