I spent a good bit of time this mother’s day with my son in our organic garden, a lovely project shared by three local families. We were also joined by another mama and her two children. We laughed and both agreed as our kids ran around with the “good bug” identification chart, that even with our dirt smudged faces, pulling weeds and staking plants was definitely the most righteous way to celebrate our motherhood.
Garden time is like no other time on this earth. Intentionally, there is no clock in sight to measure or keep track of our time so the day becomes just one big experience where the structure just seems to fade away and something deep within takes over. We dig and we pull and sometimes our minds slip into a space that the ordinary daily “rat race” won’t allow.
My gardening partner on this special day has lost both her mother and grandmother. Many deep rooted memories can be triggered on occasions such as these and whether it‘s spoken or not, it can be felt. We talked a lot about her grandmother’s garden, back then it was all organic, and how they survived during the depression off of sweet potatoes alone.
It made me think about how women, as mothers, do so much for our children’s survival and well being.
We pulled some more weeds and flicked some interesting looking bugs and the conversation naturally shifted to insects and earth friendly pest control. We have forbidden the use of harmful chemicals to ensure safety for all in this garden we so dearly love.
We recently put up a parasitic wasp nest and also have bat houses on the way. We have learned so much about natural pesticides through this project. I’m thankful that my son is getting these lessons at age six rather than struggling later in life to learn the most basic necessity of all - growing his own food.
As we were discussing how our ladybug friends eat up to a 1000 aphids a day, my curiosity of the praying mantis popped up. They are so incredibly fascinating and have such voracious appetites. They will eat a variety of insects including aphids, grasshoppers, fruit flies, house flies, moths and crickets.
While on the subject of Mother’s Day, let me just say that is one serious mama right there. Yes, I’m aware that dining on the head of the daddy-to-be while copulating is a bit brutal but she does it to ensure proper fertilization.
Apparently, this femme de fatale protracts the entire sexual process as she chews her partner - which increases the chance of her eggs being fertilized. Oddly enough the male is able to continue even after he looses his head - literally!
The male doesn’t miss out entirely though. It appears that during this cannibalistic act, it may heighten the chances that his offspring will carry more of his genes.
Enjoying her partner as an afternoon snack is not required for successful reproduction but it is an added nutritive perk for this gutsy mama to be, after all she’ll have lots of babies to feed.
Depending on food intake, a female mantis is capable of laying up to 22 ootheca (a hard capsule-like casing with multiple eggs inside), as early as the day after mating. There can be anywhere between 30 and 300 eggs per ootheca. After laying the eggs she will only have about two weeks of life remaining.
Since praying mantises are quite large, some over 3 to 4 inches long, they are easy to spot and are loads of fun for children to watch. They are the only night predators that will feed on moths at night and are also the only ones fast enough to catch flies and mosquitoes.
Novice enthusiast and professional entomologist alike are fascinated by the praying mantis. If you’re a gardener ordering eggs for pest control, many recommend keeping a few mantises in an aquarium for children to observe it‘s lifecycle. However, after watching a very graphic documentary, I would strongly recommend keeping just one and letting it go for mating season.
Scientists say there’s no clear role in the male’s part of this ritual and whether he is compliant for unknown reasons in his own sacrificial death. Perhaps that’s a good discussion for this upcoming Father’s Day.
Garden time is like no other time on this earth. Intentionally, there is no clock in sight to measure or keep track of our time so the day becomes just one big experience where the structure just seems to fade away and something deep within takes over. We dig and we pull and sometimes our minds slip into a space that the ordinary daily “rat race” won’t allow.
My gardening partner on this special day has lost both her mother and grandmother. Many deep rooted memories can be triggered on occasions such as these and whether it‘s spoken or not, it can be felt. We talked a lot about her grandmother’s garden, back then it was all organic, and how they survived during the depression off of sweet potatoes alone.
It made me think about how women, as mothers, do so much for our children’s survival and well being.
We pulled some more weeds and flicked some interesting looking bugs and the conversation naturally shifted to insects and earth friendly pest control. We have forbidden the use of harmful chemicals to ensure safety for all in this garden we so dearly love.
We recently put up a parasitic wasp nest and also have bat houses on the way. We have learned so much about natural pesticides through this project. I’m thankful that my son is getting these lessons at age six rather than struggling later in life to learn the most basic necessity of all - growing his own food.
As we were discussing how our ladybug friends eat up to a 1000 aphids a day, my curiosity of the praying mantis popped up. They are so incredibly fascinating and have such voracious appetites. They will eat a variety of insects including aphids, grasshoppers, fruit flies, house flies, moths and crickets.
While on the subject of Mother’s Day, let me just say that is one serious mama right there. Yes, I’m aware that dining on the head of the daddy-to-be while copulating is a bit brutal but she does it to ensure proper fertilization.
Apparently, this femme de fatale protracts the entire sexual process as she chews her partner - which increases the chance of her eggs being fertilized. Oddly enough the male is able to continue even after he looses his head - literally!
The male doesn’t miss out entirely though. It appears that during this cannibalistic act, it may heighten the chances that his offspring will carry more of his genes.
Enjoying her partner as an afternoon snack is not required for successful reproduction but it is an added nutritive perk for this gutsy mama to be, after all she’ll have lots of babies to feed.
Depending on food intake, a female mantis is capable of laying up to 22 ootheca (a hard capsule-like casing with multiple eggs inside), as early as the day after mating. There can be anywhere between 30 and 300 eggs per ootheca. After laying the eggs she will only have about two weeks of life remaining.
Since praying mantises are quite large, some over 3 to 4 inches long, they are easy to spot and are loads of fun for children to watch. They are the only night predators that will feed on moths at night and are also the only ones fast enough to catch flies and mosquitoes.
Novice enthusiast and professional entomologist alike are fascinated by the praying mantis. If you’re a gardener ordering eggs for pest control, many recommend keeping a few mantises in an aquarium for children to observe it‘s lifecycle. However, after watching a very graphic documentary, I would strongly recommend keeping just one and letting it go for mating season.
Scientists say there’s no clear role in the male’s part of this ritual and whether he is compliant for unknown reasons in his own sacrificial death. Perhaps that’s a good discussion for this upcoming Father’s Day.
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