Wait! Those weird, foam things are praying mantis eggs?

 

What are those things?

You've probably seen them.  The weird, foam balls that suddenly appear on stems and branches in the later part of summer.  As a kid, you might have taken a stick and stabbed it to see what, if anything, was inside.  Though, one doesn't always have to be a kid to want to do that as my husband proved just two years ago while we were pulling weeds and readying the flower beds for fall.  He started stabbing at the ball of foam like an excited eight year old only to be blown away when I screamed, "Stop!"

Don't worry, he didn't get in trouble.

So, what are they?!

If you haven't already guessed based off of the title of this post, those hard, foam looking balls are, in fact, praying mantis eggs.  To be correct, the foam balls are protective cases for the 100-300 praying mantis eggs that are inside.  The foam case is a protective agent against predators, though this seems to backfire when it comes to curious humans.  It also insulates the eggs to keep them safe during the harsh cold period in the winter.

Praying mantis typically lay their eggs in the fall, before frosts set in.  Usually, praying mantis lay their eggs about a foot or two off of the ground, though I have found them at all sorts of heights, with stems and branches being the preferred base.  If you have vines growing along a side of your house that gets more sun, try looking for praying mantis eggs there.  I have some poison ivy vines in this photo that I was getting ready to tear down only to hold off because of the large number of praying mantis eggs that I found.

Once spring begins, a few warm weeks are usually needed before the eggs hatch.  Unfortunately, there is no way to tell by looking at the foam case if the eggs have hatched or not.  That is, unless you are lucky enough to see the younglings coming out of the foam case.

And now we know what those weird foam things are.