I mentioned in this post (with pictures) about my husband bringing home some cocoons he had found on the trail while he was walking our dogs. Monday he brought home another one and it was on my bedside table. That evening, John and I were watching something from Netflix on the laptop and I happened to turn my head and noticed movement. There were crawlies all over the cocoon and I realized they were very tiny baby praying mantis! They look just like this:
After getting over the shock, I quickly grabbed a jar and scooped them into it. On Tuesday, I released them outside. We have three more cocoons, or egg cases, and we have them in a jar just in case. Praying mantis are wonderful to have around, because they eat all kinds of insects. They've even been known to grab a hummingbird, although that's not so great! Praying Mantis egg cases are for sale online, people order them for their gardens. Each egg case holds between 100 - 200 young. It's just amazing that they start out so teensy and then get so large. Praying Mantis are probably the most aggressive bug in the garden!
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