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Tuesday, April 25, 2006
The Mantids Emerge
Hatchling praying mantids
emerge from their egg case
Several weeks ago I picked up a carton of 2 praying mantis egg cases at the nursery. I hung one on a tomato plant and another in a climbing rose. This afternoon I was lucky enough to observe the hatchlings as they emerged from one of the egg cases! They were greyish and about 1/2" long. According to the package, 100-200 of these insects can come from one egg case.
These guys are superb natural pest control. And they are an especially good deal for gardeners: The praying mantis tends to hang around close to where they hatched, while lady bugs tend to wander off.
A newly hatched praying mantis
starts hunting for food
