"Things You Wouldn't Know If We Didn't Blog Intermittently."
23 April 2013
Praying mantises hatch
When I go for hikes in the late autumn/early spring, I look for praying mantis egg cases because I would like to have them hatch out in our yard and garden.
Photo from the book Bug Off, by Jerry Baker, via The Soul is Bone.
Wow, is that a current picture? Here on my Columbus, Ohio area property I found about 11 egg sacs while removing last year's perennial flower waste, but I don't think I've had them hatch this early. Maybe I need to go check again! KaraBoo
When I was in elementary school(waaay back in the 50s)someone brought one in to the class room. It was put in the back and apparently forgotten until the inevitable. Tiny little mantises (mantii?) all over the back wall. Coool.
When I was a teen (early 1970s) my mom mail ordered praying mantis sacs so she could put them in our gardens to hatch. They were stored in the refrigerator while waiting for the threat of frost to pass (we lived in New England). It horrified me then, but I totally understand now.
Why? What advantage to they bring?
ReplyDeleteBeauty. Diversity. Fascination.
DeleteYou can buy them on ebay.
ReplyDeleteI thought they might help with stink bugs last year.
There were fewer bugs this past fall.
It may have helped.
Wow, is that a current picture? Here on my Columbus, Ohio area property I found about 11 egg sacs while removing last year's perennial flower waste, but I don't think I've had them hatch this early. Maybe I need to go check again! KaraBoo
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in elementary school(waaay back in the 50s)someone brought one in to the class room. It was put in the back and apparently forgotten until the inevitable. Tiny little mantises (mantii?) all over the back wall. Coool.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teen (early 1970s) my mom mail ordered praying mantis sacs so she could put them in our gardens to hatch. They were stored in the refrigerator while waiting for the threat of frost to pass (we lived in New England). It horrified me then, but I totally understand now.
ReplyDeleteWhat do they eat? And how much? What effects(affects?) do they have?
ReplyDelete