There I was, working in the garden, when my daughter said, “Hey you have a bug on your shirt.” I didn’t feel anything or see anything. I thought she was kidding so I continued on with what I was doing. “No really. Now its on your shoulder.”
Sure enough. A praying mantis had jumped on my shirt. It was now riding on my shoulder.
We paused for pictures. The mantis and I. It swiveled its head as if to look at the camera. Then it jumped off my shoulder into a nearby bush.
The whole episode was a lot of fun. The praying mantis was right on my shoulder. But, had it not been called out to me, I would never have known.
Our Mantis Connection
This mantis and I, we go way back.
I can say I knew it even before it was born. Last winter, we noticed a mantis ootheca or egg sac in our nectarine tree. Through winter and spring, I would check in to see if there were any changes in the ootheca.
Finally, last week of May, the ootheca hatched and we had dozens of little mantis nymphs in our nectarine. I blogged on it at the time and included more than the usual amount of photos. The whole scene was fascinating to see.
After several days, the mantis nymphs began spreading out from the nectarine. Having literally seen them come to life, all summer I’ve watched for them. I saw praying mantises all over our garden, on a fence, on a car and on garden tools.
It is amazing what you see once you start looking.
Have you ever seen a mantis molt?
Praying mantises molt. Or if you’re in England, they moult. In the photo below, a praying mantis is finishing a molt in our dried out sweet peas.
So, now that I’m watching, this summer I’ve seen several praying mantis molts. After a molt, the exoskeleton does not stay in tact for long. It blows away or crumbles pretty quickly. I like the detail in the photo above. You can see the outlines of the mantis including the sharp spines on its legs. Eerie and fascinating at the same time.
Turns out praying mantises molt many times during their short life. There is a lot out there on praying mantis molts, but it is mainly from people who keep mantises as pets. I’ll pass on keeping these as pets.
But, I do enjoy seeing praying mantises n the garden. And, I have enjoyed following them from egg, to nymph, to molt and even to my shoulder. It is amazing what you see once you start looking.
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