She was the 5" long praying mantis who lived, last summer, in one of my Japanese eggplants. I loved her and she loved eating bugs (all kinds of bugs, but I always hoped she caught more bad ones than good ones), so we had a happy relationship. When I pulled all the plants out of the bed in order to expand it, I left the eggplant in place as long as I could. And, when it came time to till the bed, my friends and I carefully removed the eggplant and put it in a pot away from the mayhem of the plot-remodel. So badly I wanted her to lay eggs. She was so fierce and such a loyal helper, I hoped for her descendants to grace my future. Always curious about her state of being, I checked the eggplant regularly, and she stayed there, usually still, sometimes hunting. She stayed until the landlord's gardeners came. In the morning before their arrival, she was there; in the afternoon, she wasn't. After that, I never saw her again.
I don't know if this is really her offspring or not, but I imagine that the eggsack from which this little one arrived was hers. I'd like to picture that, when the gardeners came that day, she made her last flight up into the black walnut tree, a tree that in every other circumstance has caused me no end of frustration, but in this case provided a home for the eggsack she laid. I imagine that this spring the eggs in the sack hatched, and little praying mantises ran everywhere, eating each other (if they could catch one another) and whatever other living creature they could catch small enough for their little jaws. As the winds came, they fell out of the tree, scattering to all corners of the yard and garden. And today, as I gathered my gear together to leave the garden, this one—no larger than a dime—suddenly fell from above and onto my camera case. Carefully, carefully, I carried him/her/it to the garden and sat the case next to my withering dry beans, where he/she/it made a surprisingly large leap from the case to the vine. The mantis paused there for a moment, looking at me just the way its mother did, and let me take a picture of it before it skittered off and into the green.
I don't know where our hummingbirds' nests are, but this weekend, at my uncle's new home, in his yard full of fruit trees, grape vines, tomatoes and cantaloupes, I had the opportunity to peek inside another hummingbird's nest. It was the first time I was able to see, incredibly intimately, the handiwork of the miniature beasts.
I know it sounds Pollyanna of me; it sounds cheesy and overly in-love-with-everything, but I can't help it. Of this green world, I just can't get enough.
9 comments:
Awwww...atleast you've got friends in your garden! I've been seeing "the enemies" - aphids, grasshoppers, slugs - so whenever the dogs and I are out for walks, I collect all of the ladybugs that we come across and release them into our yard. Funny actually, having to go out and find me some friends! :-P
I you would like to see a good video documentary about a hummingbird nest, please click the link below.
http://hummingbirdsformom.com/hummingbird_videos/hummingbird-nest-documentary/trackback/
The video is not mine. It was found on Youtube.com. I recently posted it on my blog. Hope you will enjoy it. Please feel free to visit often and and also to let others know about it.
Hummingbirds????! Really? Oh my. I'm so jealous I could explode. I've always wanted to see one. Sigh.
And hello to your wee friends.
I envy you your garden. I just don't have the time with the boys still being so young, but I'm doing my best to get my container garden of herbs going this weekend. Where did you get your T-Shirt?
When we lived in St. Louis, we had a couple of ficus trees that would summer on our deck, becoming big and robust, with shiny leaves. One wintered in our house, the other at my office. One winter about February, the office tree was suddenly alive with tiny baby praying mantises. Obviously a female had laid her eggs in the tree the previous summer!
I thought I was the only one who track the comings and goings of praying mantis in the garden! I have bunches of little babies all scattered throughout. So, far it's been a good spring for them.
Rowena: I love the image I have of you collecting ladybugs on your walks with the dogs.
Zoe: Thanks for the link.
Wendy: Sometime, when you take your California coast road trip, you'll have to stop by--hummingbirds, in this area, we have in spades.
Jean: I got my t-shirt from You Grow Girl's store--it was not cheap, but I couldn't resist.
Terry B.: That's funny. I have a very humorous mental movie running through my head of an office full of baby praying mantises.
Pam: It has been here too, even though we're in such a drought. I love to watch them grow up.
Those little beasties make me glad, oh so glad, to know that your garden must be paradise.
To think. People sometimes want to rid their crops of these helpers. These bug-gy images are glorious!
Christina, you have, once again, made me smile broadly. And as for those tiny hummingbird eggs...have I told you about my obsession with birds and their nests?
Was waiting to give your post all of my attention. So pleased I did.
Wonderful post! I have a post on the praying mantises we had last year...we bought an egg watched it hatch...hundreds of little guys came swarming out...incredible!
We bought our second one last night...can't wait to see!
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