Preying Mantis Ootheca Hatches

Subject: Hundreds of Preying Mantis nymphs
Location: Naperville, IL
July 20, 2013 6:34 pm
Dear Daniel~
Hello there! I hope you’re well and enjoying summer. I spotted a mantis ootheca (ootheca?) on a lilac branch last fall, and before the bush leafed out this spring, I clipped the ootheca and placed it in a mesh-capped jar, where I’d been checking it daily. They hatched in early June while you were on vacation, so I am sending these photos again now. About 150 mantis nymphs emerged and scattered throughout my garden, where I spot them nearly daily. I do believe they’ve been keeping my plants aphid free all summer.
All the best to you!
Signature: Dori Eldridge

Hi Dori,
We are terribly sorry to have missed this submission in June, but playing catchup after even a short trip away from the office is an impossibility.  It is difficult to imagine how all those Mantids can issue from that tiny Ootheca.

We are happy to hear you have had a relatively Aphid free garden this year.