Posts Tagged: ootheca

Prey Tell, Where Are All the Mantids?

Prey tell, where are all the praying mantids? Last fall, a Stagmomantis limbata deposited her egg case, or ootheca, on an clothespin...

A beautiful gravid praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, is right at home in the lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A beautiful gravid praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, is right at home in the lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Find the praying mantis! In the flood of red and gold lantana blossoms is a gush of green: a beautiful gravid praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Find the praying mantis! In the flood of red and gold lantana blossoms is a gush of green: a beautiful gravid praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A very gravid praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A very gravid praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, hello there! The praying mantis eyes the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, hello there! The praying mantis eyes the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Quail of a Time

Talk about a quail of a time.... When the ootheca of a praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, hatched April 9 on a clothespin clamped to...

Praying mantis nymphs, Stagmomantis limbata, scatter on a metallic quail sculpture near where they hatched the afternoon of April 9 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Praying mantis nymphs, Stagmomantis limbata, scatter on a metallic quail sculpture near where they hatched the afternoon of April 9 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Near nightfall, only a few nymphs remained on the metallic quail sculpture. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Near nightfall, only a few nymphs remained on the metallic quail sculpture. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Day a Clothespin Sprang to Life

Saturday, April 9 was the day a clothespin sprang to life. Some 200 praying mantis nymphs emerged from an ootheca that Mama Mantis...

This is what the ootheca looked like in mid-March. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is what the ootheca looked like in mid-March. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Saturday, April 9 was "Hatch Day." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Saturday, April 9 was "Hatch Day." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Some of the praying mantis nymphs climbed to the top of a metallic quail sculpture on the clothesline, getting a bird's eye view. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Some of the praying mantis nymphs climbed to the top of a metallic quail sculpture on the clothesline, getting a bird's eye view. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, howdy there, sibling! What big eyes you have! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, howdy there, sibling! What big eyes you have! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ooh, an Ooth! And on a Clothespin, at That!

No doubt you've seen a praying mantis egg case, or ootheca, on a tree, shrub, fence or post. But have you ever seen one attached to a...

An eggcase or ootheca warming on a clothespin in Vacaville, Calif. This is from a Stagmomantis limbata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An eggcase or ootheca warming on a clothespin in Vacaville, Calif. This is from a Stagmomantis limbata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This image of a gravid Stagmomantis limbata, taken last summer in a Vacaville pollinator garden, may have been the mama. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This image of a gravid Stagmomantis limbata, taken last summer in a Vacaville pollinator garden, may have been the mama. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The predator and the prey. A female mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, eyes a honey bee in a pollinator garden in Vacaville last summer. She missed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The predator and the prey. A female mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, eyes a honey bee in a pollinator garden in Vacaville last summer. She missed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Find the Praying Mantis! (Hint, She's Big!)

Find the praying mantis. That's not too difficult, considering this Stagmomantis limbata is gravid (pregnant) and about ready to deposit her ootheca...

Find the praying mantis! This is a female gravid Stagmomantis limbata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Find the praying mantis! This is a female gravid Stagmomantis limbata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In this 2018 image, a praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, deposits her egg case in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In this 2018 image, a praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, deposits her egg case in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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