THE PAST
I returned from a Massachusetts visit with a Praying Mantis egg case and instructions to keep it in the fridge till the 15th of April, then out to room temperature and wait till some time mid May for the little ones to arrive,
THIS MORNING
About 5 AM I went to look at the container, and
WOW
they were streaming out of the egg case by the dozens.
I quickly dressed, took them over to the gardens at the church around the corner, and released them over the whole area into the verdant green.
There were at least a hundred, maybe more by the time I got there They have plenty of room to mature and live a full summer eating other insects.
I use no pesticides so they are safe in that way, and what the birds don't get will lay new egg cases when the time is right.
It's possible we will have them for many seasons to come.
4 comments:
that's great. i haven't seen a praying mantis around here in a very long time.
What a great day for the garden! What a lovely steward you are :)
Hi, Michele. That is so cool--I still see praying mantises occasionally and try not to mow over them. Haven't seen ladybugs for awhile, however. And my bees are struggling with all the insecticides the neighbors use. And so it goes...
best, nadia
Wow! Now that is something I've never seen or heard of! The breeding and nurturing of praying mantids. I've since googled and discovered to my amazement that people do breed them. We have so many over here I didn't think that in some parts of the world they are dying out. I daresay that could happen here too. It's been so long since I've seen a chameleon, thanks to garden pesticides.
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