Lives of the Mantids

No review of my back yard garden is complete without a search for praying mantises. We have been able to  see their entire, fascinating life cycle right in our yard at Park & Seventh. This year we had two egg cases that produced hundreds of tiny mantises, but they have many enemies, including their own kind, so few grow to maturity.

I have seen as many as four good-sized specimens in one tour of the yard this year. They have grown from no larger than a staple to several inches as they shed their skins.

Up till now, we only saw green ones, but then I spotted a brown one on the butterfly bush.

This one also has two new sets of wings observable. They will eventually grow very large. In some, the color develops into a beautiful bronze.

Their life culminates in mating and egg-laying in the fall and then they die. The female leaves behind a new egg case that will shelter the next generation through the harshness of winter. In spring, the nymphs emerge to repeat the cycle once again.

The drama of mating and the female's destruction of the male played out in our yard unseen until by chance it happened while I was nearby with a camera. Click here to see what happened.

You can click on any of the images to enlarge them.

Having a large back yard in the middle of an urban block is something that provides endless entertainment and education for this nature-minded blogger. I hope you will enjoy this little glimpse as well.

--Bernice