Praying Among The Peas

• Post by: mcalibrary
• October 4, 2023
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Another of our insect friends can be most often found among our blossoming pea plants. These are of course Praying Mantises. These odd bugs are very efficient hunters, and help rid the garden of pests. Their peculiar body shape is ideal for blending in with the surrounding pea plants, waiting patiently for their prey. If you look very carefully you may find one. And because of their ability to swivel their head and their peculiar eye structures, each Mantis will likely look right back at you.
 
Our Mantises have been here in the garden for many generations, their generations of course. Each year, as the weather cools, we search the garden for their special egg sacks. We tend to find 1-3 each year. We then take these indoors to protect them from the elements and place them in the refrigerator. This is do to the fact that mantis eggs lay dormant in cold conditions; each spring we return the eggs to the garden and wait for the semitransparent nymphs to emerge.