Praying Mantis

This is a praying mantis eating a grasshopper. Today as I was pulling weeds in my yard, I saw three mantis', one large brown one and two medium sized green ones. I was pulling weeds around them, trying to get them to move over. After a couple of minutes I looked over to see if they had moved, and the big one was eating one of the green ones! I was really surprised as I had not expected it--I do know that they have a tendency to each other, though. Mantis' eat a lot of things, including humming birds on occasion! Praying mantis' can eat up to 16 crickets a day--so you can see they are really handy to have in the garden!

Praying Mantis

I found this praying mantis sitting on a leaf of a Jerusalem Artichoke. It is in a defensive stance, and it's not sure if I am a threat--it's ready to strike out if necessary. I like having mantis' in my yard, because they eat all kinds of pest bugs; and I go out of my way to keep from accidentally harming them.

Baby Praying Mantis

While I was working in one of my veggie boxes, I saw a tiny praying mantis scamper away! And, then another! They are so cute, and so tiny! This picture shows just how tiny they are--about 1/4" in length. Because I garden organically (no chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.), I have an abundance of good bugs. The praying mantises keep laying more egg cases each year during the fall. These little critters will have plenty to eat as they grow up, keeping my garden in balance naturally.

Leaf-Cutter Bees

I recently made a post about the leaf-cutter bees. They would cut circles out of my Mr. Lincoln rose leaves each year. Last January that rose was removed to make way for a fruit tree. I thought the bees would go elsewhere when they couldn't find "their" rose. But, as you can see in the picture above, they have chosen another rose in my garden to adorn! This made me happy. It's always a surprise when I find the leaves decorated with circles! I love helping nature. I use organic methods in my garden and encourage the good bugs the best I can. Having some "bad" bugs is part of the process--who else would the good bugs eat?!? Each year I see an increase in the number of praying mantises, which are the real warriors in the garden. Lady bugs appear when they are needed, and go elsewhere most of the summer.