I was walking in Bond Park the other day and noticed something peculiar. It looked like a piece of shredded wheat cereal tied to a vine. I had no idea what it was, but I knew it wasn’t a piece of cereal.
After doing some research, I learned that this is an egg case from a Chinese mantid. This sack contains hundreds of eggs, and the nymphs will hatch in the spring if a bird doesn’t get to it first!
In case you were wondering, the egg case from the native Carolina mantid is long, thin, and gray with a white stripe down the center. I haven’t found one yet and don’t have a picture.
Have you seen any mantid egg cases?