Sunday, I was getting myself ready to go to church and enjoy the Easter cantata, when I noticed my cat behaving oddly. He was crouched near my fireplace, intently studying something on the floor. I watched his odd behavior for a moment or two, then noticed, whatever he was watching, he was also eating. The clue is the small speck of beige on the big blue pillow.
Did you guess? Yes! My praying mantis pod hatched on Palm Sunday.
I was lucky to notice before I left for church and took the pod outdoors to my porch. At this point in time, it seems only a couple dozen or so of the mantis babies escaped the cat and are roaming the house. I have let these mantis go about their business on my walls all day, and they have darkened up in color, and most seem to be okay. Since I’m not squeamish about non-biting, benign insects, I will wait until tomorrow and then give them a ride outside on a sheet of paper. To try and handle their fragile bodies would crush them.
Most of the remaining mantis babies were born outdoors on the back porch. Thankfully, the weather has shifted, and the coming week is going to be warm and without heavy rains. They have a good chance to survive if they can find smaller insects to consume. If not, they will find each other, and it will be a matter of survival of the fittest.
By the time I arrived home from church, most of the mantis babies seemed to have disappeared. I’m hoping they are in the yard already. I know that their small size allows them to slip through the mesh of the screening.
There are still a few lingering on the pussy willow branches, but by tomorrow they will probably have found their way into the great outdoors.
MINDING MY P'S WITH Q 
Kathy,
Why are you ” growing” Praying Mantis ? And I loved the picture of the cat hunting for hidden protein.
Susie
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Hi Susie, They are great predator bugs. They will eat the insects that devour my vegetables and leave big holes in the leaves or even eat the plant to the ground. My cat was the one who alerted me to the hatching. He had a great time eating them before I took it outside. Once they hardened up, he as left them alone. Today I’ll take them outside. It has gotten warm here so I am hoping little flies and gnats will hatch to feed them.
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You are a GOOD caretaker.
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Thanks…I feel bad about the babies the cat ate, but most made it out alive.
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You had an exciting start to a Sunday morning! I pray mantis babies made it to safety outside.
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I’m still moving them Anne. Most of them were taken outside on their notebook paper transport, but this morning I saw about a half dozen that were still roaming around the living room. They have darkened up and are very lively. We think they might eat the mites we can’t see that must be on the walls.
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That is very exciting.
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🙂
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So many more were in the house than I realized. I like to take them out on the paper and give them a pouf of breath to fly them through the air to a bush near my front door. When I see them half grown and grown I will wonder if they are my babies or a straggler from another pod.
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Go ahead! Live big! Claim them all as your own!
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Yes, I am the Great Mantis Mother of my neighborhood! (Does that sound a bit like a good plot for a SY-FY or horror novel?)
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