I’m not sure where
they came from, but these tiny mantis babies were all over the salt bush yesterday.
Tiny they might be, but they were all ‘praying’, and will devour anything small enough to catch and overcome,
including each other. They are also quick enough to successfully hunt
mosquitoes and flies, so should have no trouble finding meals in our garden.
These little guys may well have hatched out of the nest or
ootheca, on the fence. I’ve kept my eye on it, well, as best I could through the
cobwebs and vines, but apparently the hatchlings emerge through the bottom
of the ootheca, and quickly disperse amongst the vegetation, leaving little
trace of anything having happened.
At this size
they make a good meal for spiders and lizards, and of course each other, but
hopefully one or two will make it to adulthood.
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