We had some company on a beautiful day! Did you see a praying mantis, too?
photos| video clip: praying mantis walking, Long Beach walkway Oct. 27, 2023
Little buddy joined the walk
Tag: Praying Mantis
Look inside! Major Fred W Ritvo Veterans Center Gloucester Mass.
Have you visited the Major Fred W. Ritvo Veterans Center headquarters for Cape Ann Veterans Services?
Last year Cape Ann Veterans Services completed an inviting renovation. Adam Curcuru, Director of Cape Ann Services, said that the Compensated Work Therapy Program (CWT), a veterans construction team from Bedford, “did an excellent job. They really took ownership of the program and the building. CWT helps veterans seeking treatment who are not prepared to step back full time into work and putting health first.”
– exterior wall to be future site of the monumental eagle carving from Cameron’s
Lucia Amero pointed to the original thank-you poster listing the people involved with getting the building ready for veterans services back in 1994-95. “Ritvo (the building’s namesake) worked to involve high school students like those taking classes in the electrical shop. Naturally, more work was done over the years to maintain the building.”
The 1995 thank you poster text:
Continue reading “Look inside! Major Fred W Ritvo Veterans Center Gloucester Mass.”
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Killing Machine: Are Praying Mantis Beneficial to Your Garden?
Video Update #2 from Dave Moore: Mantis hatching from an ootheca. Thank you Dave!
Update: Kathy Chapman shares this great video ~ Thanks Kathy!
Chinese Mantis ~ Mantises have two spiked forelegs called “raptorial legs” that are used for grasping and securing captured prey.
The Truth About Praying Mantises ~
Are praying mantis beneficial to your garden? Yes and no, depending on which species of mantis you are referring. There are over 20 species native to the United States however, the mantises seen most frequently in our region are the European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) and the Chinese Mantis (Tenodera aridfolia sinensis), which were introduced to the United States in 1895 as biocontrols against other insects. They are generalist feeders and are not very effective at pest control. Mantids eat the hummingbird and bee as well as the pest. They also eat each other! The Chinese and European Mantises are fascinating creatures, but I would not purchase and release them into my garden. Chinese Mantis egg cases are easy to find in the fall. Look for the cases (called ootheca) in fields of goldenrod and Rosa rugosa.
Chinese Mantids have trianular-shaped heads with large compound eyes and three simple eyes between the antennae. Much research has been conducted on mantis eyesight. As do most mammalian predators, the mantis is capable of full stereoscopic vision and they are the only insects able to rotate their head a full 180 degrees.
In the second photo you can see the Chinese Mantis’s head is pivoting backward at a very narrow angle!
Click once to enlarge the image, and then click again to magnify.
Interesting note ~ A type of kung fu called Praying Mantis Kung Fu was developed in the Shandong province in the mid-16oos, and is said to be inspired by the quick movements and hunting techniques of the Chinese Mantis.
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Bush Cricket vs Praying Mantis- Who Ya Got?
Straight Ninja Move Right There Homie!
Good Morning Gloucester 