Ootheca

Last summer I was aware of a female praying mantis living in the greenhouse so I wasn’t surprised to find her ootheca (egg case). It was attached to the inside of the handgrip on my garden fork. This means I have to keep the fork in the greenhouse until the nymphs are hatched. The shed where I keep the tools is too cold and dark. I also have to be careful when I use the fork not to dislodge the ootheca.

Then, quite by chance, I found another as I was picking up the dead grape leaves. It was attached to a crumbling dry leaf. Even more tricky to preserve. I put it into a toilet roll spool and hung it on the remaining grapevine.

Meanwhile, the ootheca I recorded being constructed is safe on the pole, catching any sunshine we get.

All this might seem a bit picky on my part, but our native praying mantis is in danger of being wiped out by a South African invader, which is bigger and competes for the same territory. I’m keen to give our unique mantis a helping hand.

Orthodera novaezealandiae