Praying Mantis Emerges From Egg Case
Ever since I discovered the praying mantis egg case on the clematis by the deck, I’ve been watching it like a hawk, waiting for the baby praying mantids to emerge. But you know what they say about a watched pot… nothing seemed to happen to the egg case. No cracks, no change in shape, no signs of life. And then, suddenly, something changed! No, not the egg case – it still looks exactly the same. But there it was – a baby praying mantis! It landed on my husband’s knee as we were enjoying a quiet glass of wine on the deck last night. I ran for my camera, yelling “Honey, don’t let it go anywhere!” (sure, he has total control over the movements of a baby insect…). It was amazing to watch it as I snapped away, blasting mega-watt flashes at it. It assumed the “praying” position, swayed from side to side, swivelled it’s head toward the light source, and then calmly started walking toward me. Perhaps it thought I was a potential source of dinner…
Not the best photos, but it’s hard to capture something this small – perhaps 1/2″ long.
The egg case still looks exactly the same…
