There has been nothing much to report for quite a while hence no post; the Hydrangeas and the Cumquat had very little going on in terms of mantids and I began to think they had moved on to 'fresher pastures'. However, finally the other day I found more than just the usual lady beetles; adult and larvae, plant hoppers still making the leaves spotty and the occasional small spider. I really don't know where they go when they disappear for days on end but presumably it is down in the foliage and are just so well camouflaged that they are difficult to find.
I found the mantid on the cumquat tree one day but not the others, then another day the one on the Hydrangea bush that is in the shade and finally found the other two - within minutes of each other and not far apart. I was so happy to find the two on the Hydrangeas and congratulated them both on being masters of camouflage and brilliant at survival skills! I don't think they were that impressed with my praise especially when I wanted to record the moment with a photo!
But here's what's changed; they are all almost identical now! So here they all are and you can see how they have grown!
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| Young mantid on Cumquat tree. You can see its abdomen has got larger so it is catching something to eat! |
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| Young mantid on Hydrangea near one of the damaged leaves. |
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| Another took to hiding in the shade when it saw me coming closer. I think this is Little Green. |
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| This one on the Hydrangea at the back, which gets more shade, did the same and started to go down the leaf ready to disappear beneath if I got any closer. |
As well as this mantid on the back Hydrangea there is a jumping spider of a different kind or so it would seem as it has a rounder shaped abdomen instead of the long tapered abdomens of the previous salties I saw.I am glad the bulge is not my little mantid!
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| Rounder bodied jumping spider with a leaf-hopper lunch. |
So, we still have a Mantid Microcosm and today I even saw another saltie/jumping spider back as well as a couple of other spiders that make webs between the young leaves.
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| Second batch of mystery eggs on Cumquat |
However, I do not know what on earth happened to the eggs I was watching except the heat may have dried some out or maybe they were preyed upon by something. I found a new batch just the same though and thought I could perhaps find out what came out of them but had no luck there either. They are just here one day and gone the next once they become dark. Maybe next time I see some, I will bring them in and put them into a sealed container to see what emerges!
But the festive season is upon us now and so there will not be another post until after Christmas or even in the New year.
I wish all my readers a happy and safe festive season!
May you and yours enjoy good times, excellent food and drink (not too much) and wonderful company with much laughter and cheer!
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