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Curious about bumble bees and praying mantis!

Prettypetals_GA_7-8

14 years ago

After watching these two creatures all summer all over my flowers I was wondering a couple things and thought you guys might could answer a few questions. OK, why don't I see the bumble bees until they are already big plump bees? Am I seeing baby bumble bees somewhere and just don't know it? And do all praying mantis turn brown as they get older or are the brown ones one sex and the green another? I believe all the baby ones I see are all green and I believe all the big ones I see are brown. I can probably look this up on the internet but would rather ask you guys.

I know you probably think i'm crazy but things like this interest me and I love to find out info on all our creatures that inhabit our outdoor life. Thanks, Judy

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Comments (7)

paparoseman
14 years ago
Bumble bees undergo a change from larvae to adult, there are no smaller semi adults. It saves all of the time of growing up I guess. As for Praying Matis's, in the spring everything is green as summer moves forward some growth turns brown. It is just a camoflage trick.

Lance
Prettypetals_GA_7-8
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Lance. Today there was another small green praying mantis on my Coffee Country and it stayed there alllll day. But last week I saw a gigantic brown praying mantis, almost scary looking because he was so big but he or she was sooooo cool. Bummer on the baby bumble bees. They would be a cute little site to see. Thanks again, Judy
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As shocking and sad that a mantis can actually catch a hummer (which amazed me), I expect it is an EXTRAORDINARILY rare event. In my 25 years of organic gardening (encouraging mantises among other beneficial insects), I have never seen a mantis with anything larger than a grasshopper or moth. And in untold numbers of weeding events, I have never found a hummingbird carcass on the ground among the flowers. Mantids aren't perfectly beneficial; they will catch a few "good" insects, too. But they shouldn't be considered any real threat to hummers either. Heck, I kept one as a "pet" for a couple of months once (put it on a thread leash and fed it moths). They are relatively safe to handle. You can just grab them gently from behind (like pinching a pencil in the middle) and they can't reach you. Or just put a long stick in front of them and they will generally get on it (they are afraid of you). Or push them into a slippery bowl and dump them on any plant away from the hummer feeders; they do not usually travel far. I'm a hummer-lover, but I am also mantis-friendly...
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Well....think about it for a minute. Praying mantids will grab at anything that moves and that includes beneficial critters, too. I don't like them anywhere near my gardens, where the good guys outnumber the pests. Yes, they will snatch bees foraging on flowers. And it's so aggravating to see little piles of butterfly wings on the ground under their favorite flowers. They don't go after aphids, scale insects, slow moving caterpillars, or whitefly....and I've observed one releasing a stinkbug unharmed immediately after snatching it. I've also seen them kill the little anole lizards common to the deep south. Look on YouTube for videos of them lurking on hummingbird feeders and preying on the tiny birds as they come to feed. The Garden Clinic would have been a good forum in which to post your question.
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evan1 - you were spot on! I've seen quite a few "babies" this year, about an inch long so far. I have no idea why they like what we have planted and am happy to see them here but, as mentioned in a previous posting, don't think I would be as keen if I had seen one killing a hummer. The plants I have seen them on are roses, bronze fennel and feverfew but I think this is probably because these are in close proximity to each other rather than choice. Also have spotted some on the petunias. Mind you, a couple were in the kitchen and had to scoot them out, they may look at you with a knowing eye but they are still insects! Sorry, I have no idea how you might get egg sacs in Ont., given my experiences crossing the border it is difficult enough getting your luggage across let alone insect eggs, but good luck.
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My perennial gardens are full of different kinds of bees and butterflies all of the time. Praying mantids are NOT welcome, believe me! Once you begin to see little heaps of butterfly wings on the ground, you realize what the little marauders are after. :-) If I spot one in the vegetable garden, I'll grudgingly let it stay....but they can't hang out anywhere else. I'd be very careful about allowing children to handle these insects. They have powerful mandibles and can inflict a bite that may be scary to a child. AS they get older, it would probably be perfectly fine. There's probably not a more interesting creature to behold, in a kid's mind!
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york_rose
14 years ago
Bumblebees live in subterranean hives (similar in their way to honeybee hives, but certainly not identical). All the young are reared in waxen cells inside the hive. They never go outside until they are fully developed adults.

{{gwi:321557}} The waxy cups are the cells. This appears to be a picture from a hive that's been dug up.
bethnorcal9
14 years ago
Praying mantis can be green or brown. They don't change color once they are adults. There are a couple different sub-species which determine their color. Males have a long thin rear end, and the females have big fat rear ends that are full of eggs waiting for the male to fertilize them.
harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania
14 years ago
They coexist quite nicely.

{{gwi:228436}}
le_jardin_of_roses
14 years ago
Harryshoe, I would slap that mantis down just to help the bumblebee. I know I should not interfere, but it's just that my natural instincts take over. :)
Prettypetals_GA_7-8
Original Author
14 years ago
Ouch!! Dang harryshoe! That picture makes me hurt!

Beth, it figures the female would have the fat rear ends! arrgh!

I agree Juliette. Can't we all just get along and not EAT each other. haha!!

Thanks yorkrose!! They would be so much cuter though if they were fat little bumbles flying around everywhere.

Thanks everyone!!!!

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