Skedaddled!

I was saddened today to discover two of the five praying mantis egg cases (ootheca) have hatched. This is far too soon, no doubt brought on by the weeks of unusually warm weather. But we will still get cold snaps. If the nymphs hatched before last week’s polar blast they would not have survived. Also, there are few of the tiny flies that the first instar nymphs feed on. If the cold doesn’t get them starvation will.

I’ve done a thorough search in the areas of the hatched cases, but found nothing. The other three are in places that don’t get much sunshine. Hopefully they will hold out for a few more weeks.