Last week, I spent some time looking for praying mantis oothecae in an open field on a jobsite. I didn't find any during my active search, but I stumbled upon one purely by accident on another jobsite. The hardened foam masses have a distinct shape that leap out to a trained eye:
It's funny how pattern recognition works- even a cursory glance at a patch of nondescript vegetation can reveal wonders to an informed observer.
I love when they just emerge and you get the tiny little PM's. They make me laugh, these little things that become the terror of the bug world.
ReplyDeleteThey make me laugh, these little things that become the terror of the bug world.
ReplyDeleteThey're so cute when they cannibalize each other!
Yep.
ReplyDeleteYou may think they're little and cute, but they come right out as the insectivorous rex, miniature version.
They are pretty cool.
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It's true - last spring my neighbor foraged wild mushrooms in our nearby park. Suddenly, everywhere I looked I saw mushrooms. Not the right kind, unfortunately - but I saw them where previously I had never perceived them.
ReplyDeleteThat ootheca is an UNTIDY DISGRACE. A New Zealand mantid would be ashamed to see such a mess.
ReplyDeleteWe also have an imported species from South Africa taking the place over.
We also have an imported species from South Africa taking the place over.
ReplyDeleteThe one commonly observed in the NE U.S. is a Chinese import.