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Sweeter's mantid progeny

I believe all God's creatures deserve our protection and respect (even the tasty ones, the fact that they are delicious and I am an apex predator is just one more example of how the universe is not fair to all forms of life). Be it mantis or man, all life is precious. So to pay proper homage to the mantises who earned a special place in my heart, I want to update everyone on what ever happened to Sweeter's eggs.

After Sweeter, progeny of Eater, the praying mantis from a past season, laid her eggs in our front yard, we were all pretty excited to see what would happen the following year. As I've said before, you need to resist the temptation to bring the egg sacks inside or raise these creatures inside, as they not only can contribute to a healthier garden or flower bed (which does not apply to us since we have neither), but more importantly bringing them inside disturbs their life cycle and removes them from the environment in which they are so interesting.

Sweeter's eggs hatched in the late Spring, and in case you did not know, baby mantids are cannibalistic. All the women just went, "Eeew gross," and all the men just thought to themselves, "I am moving praying mantises up in coolness." So yes, it was basically a free-for-all cannibal buffet that might make it into the sequel to Apocalypto or something.

What is really remarkable about these creatures is that they all had very distinct personalities. Even without seeing their coloring or other unique physical characteristics, we could tell who was who quite easily just by their behavior (e.g. their reaction to being held). They have a truly remarkable intellect given their tiny brains and notably a short life spans. To stare into their eyes, and see them looking right back into your eyes, you can see there is a lot going on in there.

In the end, we know of only four that survived. Others may have moved on to other territories, but these four seemed to have reached some sort of agreement, or perhaps fought to a stalemate for the coveted Üner front yard domain. The four survivors were:

  • Jumper
    So named because he tended to jump from bush to bush in dramatic leaps for no reason we could ascertain. He also held his legs out straight, as opposed to folded like every other mantis we have ever seen. Jumper was always calm and not at all shy, and actually seemed to enjoy being held sometimes. Jumper was a bright green mantis with brilliant red striping.
  • Striker
    Lord Striker was so aggressive I think he once attacked my car. We are not sure he was aware he was a mantis. Also, anyone who tells you that a mantis cannot hurt you is lying. Even our flying insect population went to zero with this guy around. So named because even as a baby, he would strike at anything.
  • Brownie
    Brownie was the most allusive of all the survivors, but when you did see him, he was usually eating something bigger than himself. He also had scars and something was always missing (a leg, an antenna) and we think perhaps when the birds attacked him he tried to eat them instead. Brownie was so named for his rich brown color, similar to but darker than Striker.
  • Empress
    So named because she was huge compared to the others, so we assumed she must be the female and the others all male. Empress never attacked, but she refused to be held, and eventually moved to a different set of bushed from the others.

Here are just a few photos of them.

A Young Striker
A Young Striker
Young Striker
Young Striker
Baby Striker climbing
Baby Striker climbing
Poised and ready to strike
Poised and ready to strike
Jumper after a rain
Jumper after a rain
The quintessential Striker
The quintessential Striker
The quintessential Jumper
The quintessential Jumper
Jumper hunting
Jumper hunting
Jumper climbing away
Jumper climbing away
Empress
Empress
Brownie after a tussle
Brownie after a tussle
Brownie sees something
Brownie sees something
The mighty Empress
The mighty Empress
Jumper at sunset
Jumper at sunset
Jumper stretching
Jumper stretching
An old Jumper
An old Jumper
WSO holds a baby Jumper
WSO holds a baby Jumper
Don’t you do it, Striker!
Don’t you do it, Striker!
Promise not to bite this time
Promise not to bite this time
Ethan and Striker
Ethan and Striker
This lapel pin bites - literally
This lapel pin bites - literally
Jumper in my hand
Jumper in my hand
   

At the time, I was without the camera the father gave me that I now use for macro photography, so the pictures are not as crisp as I would like, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless. Please remember:

  • Leave mantises in their natural environment outdoors. They are both beneficial and interesting.
  • Do not bring the egg cases inside for the winter. They are more than capable of surviving on their own.
  • Take care not to use pesticides near where the little guys will hatch. You won't need them anyway, as you'll have one of the best natural pest removers I could imagine.

We were so happy to have these creatures in our yard, but if you don't have any yourself, you can buy egg cases at many plant nurseries, and enjoy them yourself for many seasons if not indefinitely. I would love to hear about your experiences with them.