Sacramento Digs Gardening: Praying mantid: Scary -- if you're an aphid

Praying mantid molts off its old exoskeleton and emerges as an adult. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Love them or hate them, this critter ranks among the scariest-looking insects in the Sacramento garden -- especially when it sheds its skeleton.

With their large forelegs, praying mantids were made to grab prey (not prayers). They're typically considered "ambush" predators, latching onto anything that happens into their path.

Their appetite for aphids makes them a garden "good girl." But they are lazy and indiscriminate hunters; they can eat beneficial insects, too. Because they like to hang around flowers, they often catch nectar- or pollen-feeding insects such as butterflies.

"As mantids consume both pests and beneficials, they are difficult to use reliably for biological control," say the UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners.

How they hunt is fascinating. Like a chameleon, they change color to blend in with their surroundings. Then, they sit and wait for unsuspecting dinner to wonder by. Their bulging eyes give them stereo vision that pinpoints their prey; their flexible little necks can spin their triangular heads almost 180 degrees.

When it's time to strike, they spring quickly into action, seizing their quarry with those monstrous forelegs.

Otherwise, they move very slowly, or not at all.

The praying mantid, fresh from its old exoskeleton.

Although usually called "praying mantis," mantid is the proper name, reflecting their largest family, Mantidae . More than 2,400 species of mantids and their close relatives are known.

The species that prowls Sacramento gardens reaches about 4 inches long at maturity. It has only one generation per year.

During these late summer months, the mature adults come out in force. While hanging upside down, they molt their exoskeleton (their "skin").

"All insects molt during the immature stages as they mature," explained retired state entomologist Baldo Villegas, Sacramento's Bug Man. "There may be from three to four immature stages or molts."

During this heat wave, a mantid outside my home office window shed its exoskeleton, which looked like a ghost bug hanging on the stem beside it. The fully developed adult mantid emerged, probably hungry.

That's OK, she can have all the aphids she wants. But leave the butterflies alone.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

natural predators gardening Sacramento praying mantid beneficials butterflies flowers insects

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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