Praying Mantis Nymphs!

One of the two praying mantis ootheca I have been watching hatched today. Most of the nymphs had gone when I noticed it, but 5 were still there. The egg case was against an old one on the old iron hitching rail I once used as a bean fence. The light was too poor for good clear shots, but I was glad to get what I did.

Life has so many perils for these tiny nymphs. Two of them were captured on a small spider’s web (see above). I was able to extricate the green one on the left, but the legs of the black-backed one were hopelessly tangled. I took it inside and carefully removed the web without also removing the feet. I took that nymph to the big fennel clump where there is plenty of aphids. More in extra shot.

I don’t expect to see any of these little guys again. They are so small and difficult to see, and this season they are also sparse.

Also today I saw a huge yellow spotted dragonfly and a blue hunting wasp, but neither was interested in having their photos taken.