Hi All!
I've got very little free time for reading and posting lately, but I couldn't pass up posting this guy. He is so great for the garden. I am happy to have him.
Enjoy!
Great Plumeria Protector
Here's another shot where he is looking right at the camera:
A little farther away. Where are the grasshoppers when you need them? I would have loved to feed him a meal with a pesky grasshopper.
I love those guys! What nice pictures!
Neat! here lately there has been quite a few little tree frogs on mine have to get a few of those the flowers are pretty is that one of your seedlings?
Great pictures Clare...he had his eye on you!
Thanks, everyone! He was definitely watching me. What a cutie pie. I've got to go out today and see if I can find him again.
Dana, that's a Plumeria obtusa 'Singapore.' I love those little tree frogs and wish I had some of them here.
One that size is female and she looks to be carrying eggs by the size of her abdomen.
Nice photos,
I walk through the woods collecting the egg sacs off bushes and place them in my garden
One year i accidentally left 6 cases in my shed
I walked in one day to about a thousand baby mantis lol!!
Thanks, Michael! I will be delighted to have more in the garden. We are going to move in a month or two, and I really want to take her with me so I hope she sticks around for a while.
Shell lay her egg sack then die at frost or shortly after laying the egg sack.
Yes thousands, I loved it lol they are harmless and small when first hatched.
Mortality is high, spiders eat most of them as do wasps.
Are they not harmless as adults? I've never studied up on mantis, though I love the look of them. Wouldn't know what an egg sack looks either, but a bunch of baby mantis sounds like a good thing. The things you learn on DG!
As adults they can inflict a painful bite removing a bit of flesh.
The egg sack looks like small brown foam ball stuck onto a stick.
Ive handled the adults for as long as ive been around them.
they only bite if they feel threatened or if you try to hold them still.
http://images.google.com/images?q=prAYING%20MANTIS%20EGG%20CASE&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=com.google:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
Wow. I've only ever seen one here, but will watch for the egg cases now. We sure get grasshoppers for them to eat.
When do they lay eggs? We've had more than usual this year and would like them to stick around. What happens in the winter.
From the link
"Releases can begin after the last frost and continue through summer. The Praying mantis is a most interesting and enjoyable beneficial insect to have around the garden and farm."
Does this mean the egg sacks can make it through the winter?
heres some one else that likes bugs. If we don't get a good hard freeze and these guys keep going they will get as big as your hand
These guys are bug eatting machines too afraid they would eat the mantis too
the egg sacks can handle -10 that im aware of.
Thanks Malestrom....yeah, we don't get that cold.
There's 10 to 400 per sack, I'm told.
WOW!! That would really be something, hope I can find a couple at least.
Wait till fall when the leaves have dropped, they are pretty common and easy to find.
They were protected for a long time
Theyve made a nice comeback
If you want to have some fun entertainmentdo this:
Swat down yellow jackets (nasty buggers)
Tie a thread to their wing and dangle it in front of a mantis
Hell lash out, grab it and crunch away lol!!
I love feeding them. ;)
Michael, you were right! It is a female, and she is laying her egg sack right now! We don't get freeze here so I'm hoping that all will live. I may have to take her and her children with me when I move!
This picture is a bit blurry but shows more of the egg sack.
Freeze is no worry to them. ;)
How neat is that you caught her doing it