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I really enjoy photographing preying mantis because they are so willing to be still and pose for me. I named this photo "Grandpa's Pet Mantis" when I sent it to my granddaughter who loves bugs.
Melody, thank you for this excellent and informative article. I had never heard of several of your subjects but I will look for them now.
We love watching and learning about insects... I have 6 and 4 year old boys.
Last year I ordered a couple praying mantis eggs and they never hatched.
A friend of mine said she kept hers inside and misted them with water and they
hatched on her back porch in her warm weather. I perched mine in a screened
bug house during June in Tennessee and waited and waited..nothing.
I actually got them for my sons birthday and he said he wants a refund gift
this year because they never hatched.
Any advice?
The praying mantis egg I had worked out well. I kept it in the mesh bag it came in and hung it about 1' from the ground among some shady orange jubilee vines. I watered it about once a week only because its so hot here in AZ. Everything needs water in life, so I'm sure these eggs sacks need water also. From looking at them, I would say they are probably well protected to prevent drowning. You will know when the egg hatches because a big slit will develop from it and you should start seeing the litter critters around your yard. I seen 4 in my garden after that and I'm sure there were more. They were hanging out on my basil plants for a while but now I have not seen them in a couple of weeks. I hope the Insecticidal soap I had to spray on the basil didn't run them off. I found my Praying Mantis egg at Home Depot, next time they sell them I plan on buying 3 or 4 for my yard. Also the instructions on the bag said they would hatch when the temperatures reached 80F+ regularly. It was well into the high 90's here when mine hatched.
