It's Ootheca Time!

Every year at this time, we get Ootheca Fever here at ARBICO. We have been carefully stockpiling the Praying Mantid egg cases (oothecas) that we’ve been receiving for weeks and now we’re ready to share them with our customers. It’s always interesting and exciting to follow their journey to us and we want to make sure that they are as carefully cared for when they leave our building. Enlightening and informing our customers is something that we are happy to do; so in this blog, I’ll be answering some FAQs.

WHAT’S AN OOTHECA?

Praying mantids have a fairly simple life cycle, especially for an insect: Adults grow and eat from late spring through the summer, then they mate and females lay their eggs in an egg case in the fall. The egg case is called an ootheca and it begins as a white, foamy mass that hardens into a fibrous brown case resembling a walnut. After mating and producing the oothecas, the adults will die of old age or cold. The eggs, however, will snuggly overwinter inside their case until warmer weather sends the cue for them to emerge as nymphs. These nymphs look like tiny adults and those that survive (about 1/5th of them) will grow rapidly. For more on all of this, check out this article, and here’s a video of a mantis laying her eggs. 

WHERE DO WE GET THE OOTHECAS?

The oothecas we sell are gathered in the wild in and around the Allegheny Mountains (which straddle Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia). We work with people who have been picking for many years – some more than 30 years. These are people who take great pains to safeguard this valuable resource, not only because they depend on the revenue year after year, but because they do their picking in their homelands. 

WHAT KIND OF PRAYING MANTIDS ARE IN MY OOTHECA?

Although there are three main species of mantids found in North America (Carolina, European, and Chinese), the Carolina is the only one that is native to our continent. However, these are not the predominant species found in the area where we get our oothecas. The egg cases we have are Chinese mantids, with a Carolina appearing every now and then. You can tell the difference by their shape – the Chinese ootheca is round, while the Carolina is longer and more oblong or rectangular-shaped. If you want more on identifying between the species, this article has some excellent tips and pictures.

AREN’T CHINESE MANTIDS INVASIVE?

Many people consider the Chinese mantid invasive, and it inarguably was at one point. However, now that they have been in North America for at least a century, they have become naturalized in the region that we are supplied from. They have dominated (and most likely eaten) the native species, causing them to decline, but otherwise have caused no harm to existing ecosystems. 

HOW MANY ARE EGGS ARE IN A CASE?

The best answer for this is would be “Who knows?" because the number is hugely variable and dependent on things like weather conditions and species. There’s simply no way to determine what’s going on in there until they hatch. There may be as few as a handful or more than 300, but 50-200 is a safe bet. The size of the ootheca in no way determines the number of eggs inside; in many cases, the smaller ones will produce more nymphs than larger ones. 

WHERE DO I KEEP MY OOTHECA?

They can be kept indoors or outdoors, but we recommend indoor hatching so they are less vulnerable to predators and the weather. You can keep the ootheca in the vial it comes in, but if you have more than one you’ll probably want to separate them. They do not need a lot of air, a simple, tight (but non-airtight) lid will do; if you do poke holes in a lid, make sure they are tiny. Observe your ootheca closely and often. The emerging mantids will need to be released as soon as they start hatching or they will begin to eat each other. Once you see the hatching, take them to your desired release area and sprinkle them out. You can leave the egg case outside in the event that there are still some mantids inside waiting to hatch.

WHEN WILL MY OOTHECA HATCH?

This is another mystery that only Nature is sure of. In the wild, hatching is all about the seasonal change in temperature. When you purchase an egg case, you have a little more control in when they hatch. To keep them in a dormant stage, store them around 41° (no lower) until you are sure warmer weather is arriving. At that time, keep them between 60-80°F (no higher) and they should hatch in 2-6 weeks. Here are two tips to get them to hatch faster from our Bug Wrangler, Christina, who handles many, many oothecas every year: Keep them right at the 80°F mark and hang them pointy-side down.

IT’S BEEN WEEKS AND MY OOTHECA STILL HASN’T HATCHED, WHY NOT?

Some cases will hatch fast and some take more time. If you order more than one case, the oothecas you will receive will come from the same location/picker, which means they should hatch close to the same time. So, if one has hatched the other(s) should follow fairly close behind. If you are hatching outside, it is easy to mistake a hatched and abandoned case for an unhatched one. When hatching, the nymphs push out between fibers in the case, which will then close up behind them and leave no evidence of their departure. There is also the simple truth that sometimes an oothecal is not viable. 

WHAT WILL THE MANTIDS EAT?

The nymphs will eat each other if they’re not released into the wild. This is the reason that you must monitor your egg cases regularly for hatching and release them when it happens. However, if you want to observe them for a while, you can hold them for a day or two, but it's risky. Mantids in general will eat anything that moves and that they can kill. This includes beneficial insects and pollinators. Don’t release desirable insects into an area where you have previously released mantids. This eye-opening video shows just how bold they can be in search of a meal. They even eat murder hornets - watch the video here.

If you’d like more information on Praying Mantids and their oothecas, check out my other mantid blogs here. And if you’d like to order some, you can do so here.

Take Care                                                           

Submitted by Pam

 

5 Cool Things about Praying Mantids

It’s Mantid Season again here at ARBICO; a time when these fascinating creatures are on all of our minds. Back in 2018, I wrote a blog that gave an overview of these nifty killers (read it here) and last year, I focused on some of their more singular attributes (look here). For my contribution this year, I’ve found some interesting little tidbits that you may not know:

1. They monitor bats: Mantids are not only voracious predators, they are also prey for voracious predators, which means they have had to develop some effective survival tactics. This is especially true at night, when bats are on the hunt and mantids are on the menu. To combat this threat, mantids have developed the ability to “read” the echolocation that bats use to find prey. Mantids can tell where the bats are and which way they are heading. If they come too close, mantids execute a quick nose dive (often flipping and slashing on their way down). This sudden shift directly downward is the same maneuver that fighter pilots use in aerial combat and is, according to this article, effective 80% of the time.

12 million year old praying mantis in amber

2. They are ancient creatures: Ancient insect fossils are exceedingly rare (due to the delicacy of their bodies), but a primitive mantid fossil was found that dates from the Cretaceous Period (66-146 million years ago). Scientists believe that mantids have been around as long as 200 million years (which pre-dates the dinosaurs), but this fossil represents when they first began evolving into what we recognize as a mantid. See it here. When you consider that scorpions have remained virtually unchanged for 300 million years and have been around (in one form or another) for over 400 million years, it seems fair to say that mantids came late to the prehistoric insect/arthropod game.

San woman & granddaughter

3. They are abundant in folklore: From ancient cultures to modern times, mantids have been made notable by people around the world. They found their way into ancient Sumerian texts and into Greek literature (Their name itself comes from the Ancient Greek word mantikos for prophet or seer). They were on Roman coins and in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. In China, they were matched up in fights like modern-day cockfights and Chinese proverbs are full of praise for their courage. Generally speaking, they have been portrayed as being wise and fearless, but sometimes they are seen as tricksters. In the tradition of the ancient San people of southern Africa, the mantis is seen as an embodiment of a mischievous, trickster god.

Master Mantis from Kng Fu Panda

4. They inspired martial arts: If you think of Kung Fu when you see how a mantid moves, there is good reason for that. There are two distinct styles of Kung Fu (Northern and Southern) who have adopted the moves of the insect for their art. The Northern Style was created around 350 years ago and the Southern Style in 1800. These martial arts styles have been used widely in movies and television and are probably what most people recognize as Kung Fu.


5. They’re movie stars: Praying mantids have appeared in a bunch of movies. Usually they are large and fearsome; but, in the case of Kung Fu Panda, the role of the mantis
character is one of a courageous warrior (sound familiar?). Interestingly, there are two movies, Praying Mantis (1993) and Preying Mantis (2003), where there are no actual insects and the mantis referred to in each is a female serial killer (make of that what you will). In case you want to binge watch some mantis movies, I've made a list for you:
Praying Mantis (1993)
Monster Island (2004)
Goosebumps (2015)
The Deadly Mantis (1957)
The Preying Mantis (2016)
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Kung Fu Panada 2 (2011) 



If
I have excited your interest in praying mantids, you may want to check out our flash sale. For today and tomorrow we are offering special deals on the oothecas. These praying mantid egg cases are only available for a few months, so you should buy sooner rather than later.

Happy Mantid Season, y’all!
Submitted by Pam

Let's Talk Praying Mantids (or is it “Praying Mantises”?).

Although some people use the term “Praying Mantises” as a plural for Praying Mantis, for our purposes here we will be calling them “Praying Mantids”, as it just makes things simpler. After all, “Praying Mantis” refers to an insect that belongs solely to the genus Mantis, whereas a Praying Mantid is an umbrella term for all types of mantids.

There are three main species of mantids found in North America-the Carolina mantid (Stagmomantis carolina), European mantid (Mantis religiosa) and Chinese mantid (Tenodera sinensis). The Carolina mantid is the only species that is native to our continent, the other species were introduced either accidently or intentionally (depending on whose account you choose to believe) sometime before or around the turn of the 20th century.  Many people consider the introduced species to be invasive, while others point to their long-term residency here as proof they have adapted and cause no harm. We will leave it to our readers to come to their own conclusions on this controversial subject.

Praying Mantises hatching - many more will follow!

As I write this, we have reached the time of year (late spring-early summer) when people are beginning to find mantids in their yards and gardens. Mantids lay their egg cases (oothecas) in the late fall-early winter and these oothecas stay dormant until warm weather returns and then hatch. If you are finding mantids in your garden and have not purposefully placed oothecas there to hatch-congratulations-you have created a welcoming place for a really cool insect. If you purchased oothecas and are waiting for them to hatch, please check out the hatching instructions on our website. It can be difficult to know when an ootheca hatches as the egg case will remain behind and can look untouched. Newborn mantids wiggle their way out and quickly disperse. Check out the video below to see them in action.

Mantids can be beneficial, but should not be considered as useful in pest control as insects such as green lacewings or ladybugs. There are several reasons for this: one is that mantids will not develop a large population in a specific area that could combat a pest infestation. This is largely due to the fact that they are enthusiastic cannibals. Mantids are just as happy to eat their own as they are to eat other insects. Once hatched, they usually try to get away from their siblings as quickly as possible (a phenomenon that is all-to-familiar for many humans). Additionally, since they are voracious eaters, they need plenty of their own space to meet their food needs. Yet another factor that make them the less-than-perfect beneficial is that their murderous tendencies are unrefined. They will devour a honeybee just as quickly as grasshopper, making them a threat to insects that are considered desirable.

Like any other insects, pesticides can seriously reduce the number of mantids in an area. If you must use a pest control agent, we suggest you use products containing Bacillis thuringiensis and insecticidal soap targeted for soft-bodied insect control. These products have little effect on mantids.

To develop the best possible habitat for mantids, remember to not over-groom your garden. These predators need vegetation to provide cover for their hunting and for a place to lay their oothecas in for next year.


- Contributed by Pam at ARBICO Organics