Friends would ask me what it was and I would say, "I have no idea. But maybe I'll find out when spring comes." Today, I found out. I noticed that something was happening with the cocoons -- both of them. They looked fuzzy, or maybe hairy. Upon closer inspection, I found hundreds of little bitty praying mantises had hatched.
As it turns out, this event was very fortunate for my garden. Come to find out that praying mantises have a voracious carnivorous appetite, eating almost any insect of a size they can overcome. They wait in quiet camouflage for hours at a time and when an insect comes wandering by, they jump out and attack.
Each of my two egg cases hatched about 200 tiny nymphs. When hatching, the young crawl from between tiny flaps in the cases and hang fom silken threads. After drying out, they disperse within an hour or two, leaving no evidence of their appearance. So, it was just my lucky morning that I noticed something was happening.
According to my online research: Once hatched, praying mantises begin feeding on small insects, such as aphids. Later on, they'll continue advancing up to larger and larger prey. By summer's end, praying mantises can reach several inches in length. In the fall, females produce more eggs, deposited in a frothy secretion that hardens to protect the eggs from predators and severe winter climates. Egg cases are attached to twigs, leaves, fences, etc. Several egg cases may be laid before cold winter finally sets in. This new generation of praying mantis will hatch when warm weather returns, to repeat the process.
There is an actual market for these egg cases. Organic gardeners use praying mathises as a form of biological pest control. I installed one of the egg cases in the center of my tomato plants; the other I left up by the house. The egg cases sell for about $6 each. I think I'll switch from looking for four-leaf clovers to mantis egg cases.
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