Watch for the Preying Mantis Hatching in the Garden!

Late May is Preying Mantis hatching time!  In 2016 this casing hatched on May 23.  On the left is a new hatchling perhaps waiting for a sibling to emerge and become a  tasty morsel.  On the right, a hatchling is poised to leap off its casing.

When full grown in fall and almost 3 inches long, these predators are capable of capturing and eating a hummingbird.  Meanwhile, they indiscriminately eat insects by remaining still, changing color to blend in and waiting patiently for their next meal to come within striking distance. 

One fall as I was harvesting basil, I almost cut one in half.  It had blended in with the basil  perfectly. At the last moment I noticed movement as the head swiveled to look up at the approaching scissors. Later she rewarded me by leaving an egg casing attached to that very basil plant. 

March 2022 UPDATE on Praying Mantids

This Spring, we collected as many Asian Praying Mantis egg casings as we could find (about 11) and removed them from the Garden. In September, 2021 we discovered a carpet of Monarch wings in Ellie's bed of zinnias. The photo here is of a plate of some of those wings from that event. A praying mantis had lain in wait in the zinnias and methodically attacked each butterfly that came to nectar there. She ate the body, leaving the wings to fall to the ground. The female needs a lot of protein in the Fall to lay her eggs. 

The Asian mantids are indiscriminate in their hunting and by September are quite formidable, even capable of killing a hummingbird. They out-compete our native Carolina Mantis which has been moving north and has been reported near NYC.