Beneficial insect - Praying mantis

Praying Mantis

Mantodea

Praying mantis can be found in all warmer parts of the world and are a strong predator. They are a solitary species that roam the garden no matter the plant species looking for unsuspecting prey that are all too often highly focused on devouring plant material. For an insect of its size, they are highly intelligent and will often gaze back at humans with an inquisitive set of large alien-like eyes! Mantis will prey on any soft bodied insect such as caterpillars, beetle larvae, ants, small spiders, small butterflies and moths, aphids and mealybugs. The larger females produce an intriguing egg sack on plants that dry hard and brown of which up to one hundred tiny offspring emerge at the end of summer to begin their solitary lives from the get-go. Most people do not recognise these egg sacks as that of a mantis and simply cut them off the chosen plants and place them either in the compost or underfoot.

Although Mantis can be found on an assortment of plants, they seem to have a special fondness for the likes of Dill, Fennel and Goldenrod as these plants seem to also attract smaller insects that are easily pounced upon.

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