Praying Mantis on Eggplant

jymarino Fri Jul 22, 2011 12:31 pm

I was surprised to see a couple of these guys out there today. I think they are beneficial, right??

eggplant - Praying Mantis on Eggplant Prayin10

Goosegirl Fri Jul 22, 2011 12:43 pm

Definitely keep these guys around! They are your Garden Guards! All Trespassers Shall Be Eaten!

GG

**camprn** Fri Jul 22, 2011 2:01 pm

Ohhh! JYM you are a very lucky gardener to have so many mantis in your garden, they are very hungry critters and eat bad bugs! What a Face

FamilyGardening Fri Jul 22, 2011 2:06 pm

cool!!!!

how awesome is that!

hugs
rose

Britesea Fri Jul 22, 2011 2:47 pm

Another weapon in your arsenal against the Bad Bugs.... but mantis will also eat good bugs (they eat any bugs) so don't be surprised if you see that. Still and all, they are cool to look at and evidence of a very healthy ecosystem. Very Happy

jymarino Sat Jul 23, 2011 3:43 pm

I know they eat anything they can, but I'd rather take the chance on having them eat a couple of benefical bugs if they eat up the bad ones too. I was also excited to get a picture of them. The one I posted almost seemed to be posing for me!

shannon1 Sun Jul 24, 2011 2:04 am

jymarino wrote:I was surprised to see a couple of these guys out there today. I think they are beneficial, right??

OMG how cute is that baby?!

duhh Sun Jul 24, 2011 4:55 am

Love this pic! Thanks for sharing!

Goosegirl Sun Jul 24, 2011 5:06 am

I have never seen a live one Sad

- I keep hoping I will find my first one in my garden

GG

jymarino Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:55 am

My dh found a BIG one when he was mowing the lawn yesterday. I scooped him up in a box and put him in the SFG area. Hopefully he will eat all those dumb bugs that are causing me issues.

**llama momma** Sun Jul 24, 2011 2:46 pm

Thank you! You have given me the greatest idea!! For some reason my flower garden has many P. Mantis and I've spotted a couple mantis cocoons on branches. So today I caught one P. Mantis in a bucket and relocated him/her to the 4x4 box of corn where I noticed grasshoppers munching on the corn leaves yesterday. Hopefully the little grasshopper munchers will become munchies... Twisted Evil

I realize it is kind of evil but I'm just helping nature along right?? Now perhaps I will relocate some others to my 4x8 box too, oh goodness thank you again for this idea!! What a Face

oxmyx1 Sun Jul 24, 2011 3:01 pm

Ya'll know it's possible to buy mantis cocoons for your sfg, right? Then you COULD see a live one, GG! Or many ones!

oxmyx1 Sun Jul 24, 2011 3:02 pm

Ya'll know it's possible to buy mantis cocoons for your sfg, right? Then you COULD see a live one, GG! Or many ones!

sherryeo Sun Jul 24, 2011 3:48 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJoNzO0iNVQ&feature=player_detailpage

Check out this amazing video of praying mantises emerging from their egg casing!

**camprn** Sun Jul 24, 2011 4:02 pm

llama momma wrote: For some reason my flower garden has many P. Mantis and I've spotted a couple mantis cocoons on branches.

That is good hunting ground, with all the pollinators visiting the blooms, the hunt is made easier.

**llama momma** Sun Jul 24, 2011 5:10 pm

On youtube there are videos of Pr. Mantis attacking snakes and humming birds. These little guys are ferocious, also heard that their first meal is often their littermates, hoo-weee! The largest one in my flower garden last year must have been 3 and 1/2 inches long or more. Really creepy as I walked past it and its triangular head turned to watch me. Like being in a sci-fy flick or something it gave me the heebiejeebies!

sherryeo Sun Jul 24, 2011 5:33 pm

llama momma said:

Really creepy as I walked past it and its triangular head turned to watch me. Like being in a sci-fy flick or something it gave me the heebiejeebies

I hear ya, llama momma. I used to be terrified of these things when I first saw them as a child - quite alien-like in appearance, yikes! It's funny, I almost wrote about that in my last post and was gonna use the term "scared the bejeebies" out of me! Laughing

**llama momma** Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:01 pm

sherryeo wrote:llama momma said:
Really creepy as I walked past it and its triangular head turned to watch me. Like being in a sci-fy flick or something it gave me the heebiejeebies

I hear ya, llama momma. I used to be terrified of these things when I first saw them as a child - quite alien-like in appearance, yikes! It's funny, I almost wrote about that in my last post and was gonna use the term "scared the bejeebies" out of me!

and I bet Sherryeo when it comes to bejeebies and heebie-jeebies we might All fall in love with this site,
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/midatl/2003070347001515.html
It contains so many garden heebyjeebie stories, Oh My Gosh, it is so much fun to read what makes other people squeal, scream, and shiver. I came across this a few years ago. It should be required reading for all garden lovers. Everyone I recommend this page to has loved the stories, so if you get a chance - Enjoy ! and,
Happy Gardening,
Llama Momma

oxmyx1 Sun Jul 24, 2011 8:07 pm

You all are missing such a COOL critter if you're heebiejeebieish about them! But I suppose I was not your typical girly girl back in the day. I LOVED mantises. We were told, on base (Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM), that it was a FIFTY DOLLAR FINE if anyone was caught killing a praying mantis. I have no idea if that was really true but I took it upon myself to inform every kid and every parent I saw that this was The Law and I better not catch them hurting one! HA. They were more plentiful when I was a kid in the 60's and every time I caught one I'd go around 'teaching' other kids about how cool they are. I see my future as it panned out from those days: I became a biology teacher. To this day, I try to convince every female I meet that Snakes Are Not Slimy!

sherryeo Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:06 pm

Hi oxmyx1! Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-praying mantis now that I'm a grownup!

But back when I was a little girl, they just seemed like some kind of intelligent species of alien, turning their head to give you the once-over while trying to decide whether to zap you with their (imagined as a little girl) deadly laser rays that shoot from their eyes! Laughing

It's true that I was very much a girly-girly about such things as a child. I've overcome some of that as I've learned to smash the bad bugs barehanded every chance I get! Ok, well, truth is I still wear my gardening gloves for the ickier ones!

I'd love to have plenty of praying mantises in my veggie garden now, though! I I love you

praying mantises!

oxmyx1 Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:44 pm

Sherryeo, you have evolved marvelously! Even more so than I - to squish ANYTHING with my bare hands, unless it's a big sandwich, is totally beyond my human ability. Even if I kill a crunchy bug with my shoe, I have to make some sort of loud noise myself (HA! AHHHH!) so I don't hear the crunch. ewww. And step fast and hard - maybe a little dance to go with!

I think maybe because I learned how much the mantis is a predator of bad bugs (and too small to hurt ME) that fascinated me so much. ANd the way they turn their heads! They are the only insect that can do that. COOL!!!! Wishing I had a few to watch right now!

shannon1 Mon Jul 25, 2011 12:36 am

sherryeo wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJoNzO0iNVQ&feature=player_detailpage

Check out this amazing video of praying mantises emerging from their egg casing!

amazing but just a bit creepy.

jkahn2eb Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:13 pm

oxmyx1 wrote:You all are missing such a COOL critter if you're heebiejeebieish about them! But I suppose I was not your typical girly girl back in the day. I LOVED mantises. We were told, on base (Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM), that it was a FIFTY DOLLAR FINE if anyone was caught killing a praying mantis. I have no idea if that was really true but I took it upon myself to inform every kid and every parent I saw that this was The Law and I better not catch them hurting one! HA. They were more plentiful when I was a kid in the 60's and every time I caught one I'd go around 'teaching' other kids about how cool they are. I see my future as it panned out from those days: I became a biology teacher. To this day, I try to convince every female I meet that Snakes Are Not Slimy!

My biggest memory was from first grade. Classmate's mom brought her pet boa into the classroom and kids were invited up to pet [ takes break to pet SFG guard dog, Patches O'Houlihan ] .

Cool videos and Beatles always good way to start day.

I've seen a few adolescent pm's hanging upside down on my shade cloth above my SFG. Need more to deal with my bug problems. Maybe I'll get me a pitcher plant...

moswell Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:54 pm

My parents once brought a Christmas tree home that had a praying mantis nest hidden inside. I wish I'd been there to see it hatch: apparently my brother (who was always more skittish around bugs than me) came home to find little baby mantises everywhere (I guess the heat in the house encouraged the hatching). He freaked and unloaded an entire can of Raid on the poor critters. lol!

I still rib him about that, but of course the poor things wouldn't have survived anyway given the winter temperatures.

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Praying Mantis on Eggplant