Monday 25 September 2017

Praying Mantis - Insect of the Year (2017)




This morning I saw a praying mantis perched on a wooden box in the garden.

She, I assume it's a she, may well be looking for a suitable place to lay her eggs; it's the right time of the year and the abdomen as you can see in the photo is very swollen.

She will lay between 100 and 200 eggs. And if all goes well the larvae will appear in May. They will go through 6 stages of development.

I'm pleased to say she has chosen her location wisely. We never resort to insecticides or chemicals in the garden. Perhaps  that's why she chose us. I like to think so. Seeing such a rare insect in the garden I feel very privileged.

In Germany the Insect of the Year 2017 is red listed as a threatened species.



8 comments:

  1. Great photograph. Its good that you are a chemical and insecticide free gardener. The Cabbage Whites are not my friends though and I can often been heard swearing at them.

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    1. When I was small my dad made me look under the cabbage leaves for the caterpillars and remove them. Strange to say I can't remember what we did with them after that. If a hungry preying mantis sees a cabbage white on a leaf it'll try and sneak up on it and eat it.

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  2. I saw one once a few years ago in Spain - I was so excited and it really is such a strange insect. Lucky you for catching it on camera.

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    1. It is still here this morning, now hanging in a corner inside the box.

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  3. I thought they only lived in hot countries.

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    1. It's been very hot here this summer, the third hottest in last 250 years. The other two are also in this century. The flora and fauna is changing.

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  4. What a wonderful shot and lovely animal indeed. Greetings!

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    1. Thanks B. And just to update everybody we now have eggs! I'll try and get a photograph of them tomorrow. They look like a piece of chewingum a schoolboy stuck under his desk. Sun was too bright for a good one today.

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