Subject: Strange Arthropod
Location: El Paso, TX, USA
July 30, 2015 3:14 pm
Hello Mr. Bugman,
My mother sent me picture and asked if I knew what kind of “bug” it was. She was pretty creeped out, since it looks so wild and crawls all over the outside of her house, but so far has not strayed far from that location. For the life of me, I couldn’t think of anything that looks like this besides Cambrian era arthropods (haha), so I was hoping I may have luck with you. If not, don’t worry about it!
Signature: Francisco
Dear Francisco,
This looks like the Ootheca or Egg Case of a Preying Mantis, and it also appears that it has already “hatched” releasing several hundred tiny, predatory Mantises into your mother’s yard where they will help to control insect populations.