Subject: Drama on my Sweet Sarah clone
Geographic location of the bug: Mt. Washington, Los Angeles, California
Date: 08/04/2018
Time: 11:08 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Dear Bugman,
I hope you don’t mind that I keep sending pictures of the same two predators that have taken up residence on my Sweet Sarah clone. The California Mantis was missing for a few days and then it reappeared looking quite a bit bigger. I noticed this drama today. What was really interesting was that as soon as she got close to the Green Lynx Spider, he leaped out of reach. I haven’t found a single grasshopper on this plant, while I have to pick them off the rest of my crop.
How you want your letter signed: Constant Gardener
Dear Constant Gardener,
Keep your images coming. We applaud your organic gardening methods and natural pest control. When an insect molts, it becomes much more vulnerable to attack, at least until its new exoskeleton hardens. Since your California Mantis has grown, it must have molted, so it probably was in hiding until its new exoskeleton hardened sufficiently, explaining why it was missing for a few days.