Mother Nature's Surprise

Checking the yard on Christmas Day, I discovered yet one more Praying Mantis egg case, bringing the total to five.

As Plaintalker readers know, these creatures are a source of fascination to me and my neighbor through three seasons. They are ferocious hunters and are considered an asset in the garden. We like to watch their progress from emerging in the spring, devouring insects all summer and mating in the fall. The female dies after laying eggs and sometimes the male is a victim of the mating process, as females are known to attack and eat them.

We saw the gravid females with their swollen abdomens, but did not discover where they placed the egg cases until leaves began falling off a forsythia bush near the building. It was heartening to discover two, assuring a new generation in 2013. Then we found more, including two on the same branch. This fifth one sets a record for our yard.

Those who sell Praying Mantis egg cases to gardeners say one can expect "up to 200" baby mantises. That means a potential 1,000 of them in the spring. Realistically, the number will be much smaller, as the mantises emerge very hungry and will eat anything moving, including their birth mates. Still, it's likely there will be a bumper crop next summer to amuse the humans with their antics.

--Bernice