Searching for praying mantises
Melissa Turner's story today, "Cultivating flavors," begins with Bistro Sofia sous chef Steven Tholkes searching for praying mantises in his restaurant's garden.
The praying mantis is my favorite insect. That goes back to the first time I saw one when I was a kid. It was perched on a leaf munching a yellow jacket like a hero sandwich.
Man, that is one cool bug, I thought then.
Trouble is, I haven't seen one in a long time. What's going on with that? Are their populations thinning out, or am I just not spotting them?
Yes, Tholkes found one. I'll try to look closer, too.
Comments (7)
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Doug, you bring back memories.
When I was 8, my best friend and I would catch crickets in the garage at my house in Fairfax, Va., stab them with toothpicks, and hand feed them to this praying mantis that would hang out on our fence.
You'd see it clamp onto the morsel, pull it off the stick, and chomp away.
My mom was so impressed she called the local paper and a photographer came out.
But it was camera shy and wouldn't do it with some stranger poking some device in its face.
Posted on June 15, 2005 8:18 PM
Got several here in the mountains of WNC , Doug. Wish I could teach em to savor scorpions. More of those dang things around this year , according
the native folks, than have been seen in years.
Posted on June 16, 2005 12:46 AM
Michael, that is pretty amazing to have an insect showing up for handouts. Whatever happened to the bug?
mrp, why is it you have such a scorpion problem up there in Polk County? My brother-in-law, who lives off Red Fox Road, has had them crawling all over his house, inside and out. He's paid a fortune to exterminators -- worth every penny, considering he has a wife and three daughters to keep happy.
Posted on June 16, 2005 7:59 AM
Good question Doug regarding what happened to it.
It stopped hanging out on the fence after the photographer came by. He must have really spooked the praying mantis.
Never saw it again.
Posted on June 16, 2005 11:44 AM
Are you sure the photog didn't step on it?
Posted on June 16, 2005 12:20 PM
Interesting theory, although my mom was present (I was at school) during the shoot. No sign of foul play (unless he squashed it when she wasn't looking).
It happened more than 30 years ago, so I'm afraid we might have to chalk this one up as one of the great mysteries of our time, right up there with whether Oswald acted alone and why squirrels suddenly dart in the direction of oncoming cars.
Posted on June 16, 2005 3:35 PM
Danged if I know why we have so many scorpions here in Polk Co. Some say the wet weather we have had but, Man, the things are everywere you turn. One of the daughters was visiting a couple of weeks ago and took a face towel off the rack in the guest bath and one of the dang critters fell out of it. She about had a coniption fit. Was thiking I might have to find the smellin salts.Knew I was gonna have to go have a hearing test because of the decimel level of the pitch on the scream.
I fired Terminex because they couldn't get rid of them and have found no one who can do better. Thinking of going down to "Do it youself exterminators" in Greer and seeing what they got.
Will keep ya posted, if it works for me it might work for your folks here in this next of the woods too. Shame the Mantisis can't do anything for me. Even the anoles and blue tails leave those critters along.
Posted on June 16, 2005 4:19 PM