If you read my blog about my grandson eating my lettuce, you will understand my fascination with beneficials. My grandson ate my lettuce straight from the planter. Picked and ate the first raspberry but I'm not sure how he will feel about the turnips. Like his father, he hates tomatoes but if it's edible, he wants to pick it and try it.
In order to keep from using pesticides, I purchased beneficial bugs. Yes, you can buy them on line and have them shipped to your door. I purchased live lady bugs and preying mantis egg casings. I released the lady bugs from their box but I had to wait on the mantis to hatch. The instructions said it would take 6-8 weeks in the heat for them to hatch and unless you were lucky enough to catch the hatching, you'd never know.
Well, you can imagine my excitement one morning when I walked outside on my patio and found these strange stringy things hanging from the egg. As the mantis hatched they came out like small worms and then as they dried, they folded their front legs in the praying stance. I was amazed and excited by this peek at nature.
No comments:
Post a Comment