At least one of the praying mantis eggs I placed in our yard three weeks ago as a pest control has hatched — just in the nick of time, too. In the past few days I have crushed dozens of little green grasshopper nymphs.
According to an article my brother passed along, this season the western states will face their worst grasshopper outbreak in decades. The infestation is predicted to reach its dire height in July, despite the plague already visited on our emerging warm-season crop.
Luckily — if not strategically — our mantis nymphs should be fledgling everything killers by midsummer.
Over the weekend, I killed our third adult grasshopper of the season, the first since my 41-week-pregnant wife charged from the house to chase one down shortly before our daughter was born in May. This latest sat in our orange tree, perched just above an as yet unscathed set of plantings: a Burgess Buttercup squash, a Cherokee Purple tomato, a pair Scarlet Emperor pole beans. Hopefully its demise proves a good omen. I crushed it with enough vigor to startle friends visiting the baby, and cursed it perhaps a little too viciously.
It was gratifying.
If all goes well, the grasshoppers of July will find themselves outmatched by the mantises, our newly-ranging chickens, and my sporadic victories.
That was a cool video. I have never seen a mantis in my garden, but I know that they live around here. I think my garden would be too small for that many mantises, but they could definitely disperse to neighboring gardens!
Is it mantises or mantii? I defer to your knowledge, of course…and assume you’re right.
Glad the good hatchlings are winning at Casa Williams. Very interesting that we’re facing a grasshopper onslaught! Makes me think of when I used to have 25 rose bushes to take care of…and we got absolutely chewed to nubbins one summer.
Ewww. I think Sarah has every right to be squeamish about these.
Yes, I believe Fredy and Blanca were slightly shocked by the violence!
Haha, the ecosystem is becoming more biodynamic every day.