Praying Mantis

Praying Mantid

I spotted three Praying Mantises in my garden this year. I’m always glad to see the voracious eaters. They seem to like the coleus.

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They are so good job of catching and eating other insects that some people think they would be more aptly called Preying Mantis. In fact, they are fast enough to catch mosquitoes and flies. Unfortunately, they don’t discriminate and also eat good bugs.
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I’m always confused by the difference between Mantis and Mantid. According to Gary Watkins and Ric Bessin, University of Kentucky Entomology,

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“Although many refer to a member of this group as a ‘praying mantis,' mantis refers to the genus Mantis. Only some praying mantids belong to the genus Mantis. Mantid refers to the entire group.”

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So all Mantises are Mantids but not all Mantids are Mantises. Right?

More information about Praying Mantis from the University of Kentucky.

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Praying Mantis

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I’ve always found Praying Mantis (Praying Mantid) fascinating. As kids we would squeal and drag anyone who would listen into the garden to see the “big bug”.

They are huge (for an insect) and strange looking. Their prayer posture makes them look unassuming. They eat other bugs. Unfortunately they don’t discriminate between good bugs and bad bugs (or relatives). They will sit still and let you take their picture. .

Here are some fun facts from Oregon State University 4H publication:

- Mantids have five eyes—two compound (with multiple lenses) and three simple.
- Mantids are successful hunters 85 percent of the time.
- Praying mantids got their name because it looks like they are praying when they rub their front legs together.
- Mantids are the only insects that can look over their shoulder. A praying mantis can turn its head more than 180 degrees and can see movement up to 60 feet away.
- Female praying mantids sometimes eat males after mating.

More information on Praying Mantis from Cornell Extension.

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Good Bugs

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(Monster-sized lady beetle models from Master Gardener display “Good Bugs/Bad Bugs” at Adventures in Agriculture at Palmer Mall, Easton, PA 2/14/10.)

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If we need another reason to limit our use of insecticides, the risk of killing all the good bugs as well as the bad bugs makes a strong argument. As my grandmother used to say, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

One of my favorite references “The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control” provides a list of good bugs (as well as pests). It includes a description, locale, life cycle and how to attract. The illustrations are outstanding. I’m sorry I can’t publish the pictures. How many do you recognize by name? My total was 7.

Aphid Midge (Aphidoletes aphidimyza) – larvae feed on aphids
Assassin Bug (Family Reduviidae)– helps suppress flies and caterpillars
Bigeyed Bugs (Geocoris spp.) – valuable predators of aphids, leafhoppers, plant bugs, spider mites and small caterpillars
Braconid Wasps (Family Braconidae) – parasites of elm bark beetles, cabbage worms, hornworms, corn borers, aphids and others.
Bumblebees (Bombus spp.) - pollinators
Damsel Bugs (Family Nabidae) – predator of aphids, leafhoppers, plant bugs, thrips and small caterpillars
Ground Beetles – prey on slugs, snails, cutworms, cabbage root maggots, and other pests that have a soil-dwelling stage
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) - polinators
Hover Flies/Flower Flies (Family Syrphidae) – larvae feed on aphids
Ichneumon Wasps (Family Ichneumonidae) – larva parasites of caterpillars, sawfly, and beetle larvae, and other insects
Lacewings (Chrysoperla (= Chrysopa) spp.) – general predator
Lady Beetles (Family Coccinellidae) – feed on aphids and soft bodied pests
Mealybug Destroyer (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) – prey on aboveground species of mealybugs
Minute Pirate Bug (Orius tristicolor) – predators of thrips, mites, small caterpillars, leafhopper nymphs, other small insects and insect eggs
Mites, Predatory (Family Phytoseiidae) – attack spider mites
Praying Mantid (Mantis religiosa) – catch and devour both pests and beneficial insects
Rove Beetles (Family Staphylinidae) – control aphids, springtails, mites, nematodes, flies, cabbage maggots
Soldier Beetles (Family Cantharidae) – larvae and adults prey on cucumber beetles, corn rootworms, aphids, grasshopper eggs, caterpillars and beetle larvae
Spined Soldier Bug (Podisus maculiventris) – attacks caterpillars and grubs, including tent caterpillars, fall armyworms, sawfly larvae and Mexican been beetle larvae
Tachinid Flies (Family Tachinidae) – predators of cutworms, armyworms. cabbage loopers, gypsy moth larvae and others
Tiger Beetles (Family Cicindelidae) – feed on a variety of insects
Yellow Jackets (Limonius spp.) – predators of flies, caterpillars and other pests. Can be a pest at picnics.

I could go on and on about this book. It’s a good reference for anyone interested in organic gardening. I think the short, illustrated section on “Insect Impostors” is worth the price since I can’t tell a soldier bug from a stink bug.


(University of Delaware Cooperative Extension publication “Beneficial Insects”.)

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I had to post a picture of the Krekk Alpacas hanging out at Adventures in Agriculture. Always a big hit. .

Katydid

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We had a visitor near our back door the other day. A katydid, most likely Microcentrum rhombifolium according to Karen Bernhard, Entomologist at Lehigh County Extension.

I never saw a katydid and I thought it was rather pretty. The kids thought it looked like a leaf. They were right on. The leaf appearance is a clever camouflage for these insects.

The katydid is a destructive insect with chewing mouth parts. It is also a tasty meal for birds, bats and frogs.

Some interesting katydid facts here http://www.zoo.org/factsheets/katydid/Katydid.html and here http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4TH/KKHP/1INSECTS/katydid.html You can listen to its “song” here http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/031a.htm
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Garden Book

The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control, edited by Barbara W. Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley. 1996 Rodale Press, Inc.

I’m enjoying browsing through this Christmas gift. You need to be really, really interested in gardening to stay with this book. Realizing that it is a reference book, I found the identification parts of the book the most valuable. I’m not so sure about the recommended controls.

The “Problem-Solving Plant Guide” starts with a plant description. The by-plant section includes flowering plants, shrubs, vegetables and fruits. Then, a list of problems the plant may have ends with page number for control information.

The section, “Insects. Recognizing Your Friends – Eliminating Your Foes,” includes everything from aphids to yellow jackets. The illustrations are small but each insect is accompanied by 2 to 6 pictures. Each insect section includes Description, Life Cycle, Beneficial Effect or Damage Control or How to Attract. The life cycle information is important since some insects can only be controlled at a specific stage of life. It’s nice to have this information in one book.

The book continues with “Diseases and Organic Controls” again with pictures. Type of Problem, Symptoms, Plants Affected, and Prevention and Control for each disease is listed.

Most of the general advice is not something we haven’t heard before. Use disease resistant plants. Clean up plant debris. Prune to insure good air flow. Eliminate weeds. Select the right plant for the space. Use compost and mulch. – a brief synopsis of good advice.

It’s a good reference book and reads like, well, a reference book. I’ll have to force myself to read through some sections. Maybe I’ll read “Diseases. Identifying the Cause – Implementing the Cures” during the next snow storm - unless Dan Brown writes a new book.