What's bugging you?

Well, in my house it's just bugs. All things bugs. I bought a Praying Mantis egg from Lowes in the spring and D has been fascinated with it since. I tied it to the bushes like the directions stated and we began to wait....and wait....and wait....and wait.... - ok, you get the picture. Until 2 weeks ago.

Just when I was going to give up and toss out the egg, I went to the zoo. At the zoo there is a nice bug exhibit and I saw a baby Praying Mantis, so I decided to ask about my egg. I thought a PM egg only held 1 or 2 PM, but I learned that it can hold up to 500!! HOLY MOLY!! The "bug man" said he would be surprised if my egg didn't hatch anything. He said that the egg wouldn't burst open like a chicken egg, but rather there would be a small hole in the egg.

I forgot about the egg until later that week and I went to look at it. Sure enough, the egg was MUCH lighter and there was a small hole. So the hunt was on. WE HAVE PRAYING MANTIS' in our garden!! YIPPEEE!! I've counted at least 10. Ranging in size from 1 inch to 2 inches ling. So, our new thing in the mornings is to go outside and search through the flowers and decorative grass to find the Praying Mantis'. I did catch one the other day - WOW they're fast - and D held it in his hand.

I became fascinated in them when I was student teaching in a 1st grade class. One of the kids brought one in for Show and Tell....well, it never left our classroom. I got a cage (large pickle jar), put dirt and sticks in it and fed our class "pet" live crickets every week - it was a full sized adult, probably 5 inches long. It's cool to watch a PM eat. They're fast hunters and will quickly sever the head of a cricket....I know TMI, but it's COOL!!
The picture shown is NOT a PM from my house. It's just a pic I found online.