Calling all bug people, actually, even non-bug people will want to pay attention! Starting at at 8 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday, September 19) we will have a special promotional offer at the Garden thanks to our friends at Organic Control and Beneficial Insects. Each household will receive one cup of Praying mantid egg sacs (known officially as oothecas) while supplies last.
Before you say “ew,” Praying mantids are harmless to humans and are actually great at helping with pest management since they eat just about every insect except Ladybugs.
Each household will receive one cup of two egg sacs, plus one egg sac to hide in our Garden. Like a reverse egg hunt, you will want to find a warm spot to hide the ootheca and help us manage our garden pests! When you take it home, leave it in the cup so you can watch them transform into the incredible species! After they hatch, you’ll want to quickly release them… before they eat each other!
There are hundreds of eggs in each ootheca, which will hatch when they get warm enough. Please note, there is a 50% chance your ootheca will not hatch. If you want to take all of them home to increase your chances (or if you’d like to hide them all in the Garden), they are yours to do as you like.
Watch the video above for some additional information on what you can expect and how the oothecas came to be. Plus, we’ve included some fun facts from Kids National Geographic below.
Fun Facts about Praying mantids:
- There are about 1,800 species of Praying mantids in the world.
- They are carnivores, eating insects and small animals, including spiders, frogs, lizards and small birds!!
- They can turn their heads 180 degrees.
- There are sharp spines on their front legs to help them hold onto their prey, which they usually begin to eat head first.
The Garden has remained open to serve the community by being a place to encourage wellness and health through nature and open space. Please help keep us open by considering a gift to the Garden. You can do so here.
