Beginner Gardening: They Hatched!!!, 0 by Morph

Morph wrote:
This morning I did my usual routine and did my obligatory check on the praying mantids I ordered from eBay. If you don't catch them as soon as they hatch, they start getting hungry and might eat each other! They are meat eaters so you have to get in there fast and let them free to eat OTHER bugs!

I kept asking myself, are they REALLY going to hatch? They arrived the day before we left for Canada and I dragged these egg cases all over babysitting them just in case! Each in their own little container with holes and a moist cotton swab.

WELL, this morning, rubbing my eyes, I visit them and one of the egg cases looked like it spilled out with about 100 of these things! I had to work fast before they ate each other!!! I took them outside immediately and opened them up.

As I was setting them free around the yard, they would start crawling up my arm ~ a little creepy, but not bad. I would redirect them onto a tree, leaf, brug, anywhere where they could start finding their own food.

It was just really, really cool! Here are a few pictures of them ☺