Where to find ootheca's?!?!

[Biollantefan54]

I have woods behind my house and a very large area of red clay and brush. It is usually pretty dry over there and the clay gets cracked and look like a desert, there is a lot of bushes, trees, shrubs and other stuff. It isn't a desert though it just that there is a lot of dry clay. Anyways, one year a while ago before I was into bugs and stuff, there was praying mantis egg cases everywhere! I found an S. Carolina yesterday on the porch, and a few months ago, a Chinese mantis, I didn't catch the huge Chinese one though. Anyways, when I found the mantis, I thought I would go look for more and even some ootheca's. I cant find any! I looked everywhere, no mantis's or ootheca's. What happened? Do any of you have any tips for finding mantis's or there egg cases? All I find is a bumble bees, ants, and locusts.

 

[catfishrod69]

For me, it seems best to find them in fields. Usually you will find them half way up a stock of some weeds. Good luck!

 

[Biollantefan54]

Ok, Hopefully that will work XD. They have already laid there ootheca's right? I need to get that confirmed before I go trapesing through some fields XD.

 

[catfishrod69]

They should be laying them right now. I know they lay them before winter starts, and then the females die off.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Ok cool. I am about to go look for some in about 10 15 minutes. Any tips before I go to find them (And possibly some mantises)?

 

[dtknow]

Just go where you've seen lots of adults. I know one spot that they are pretty easy to find is a flowerbed that borders a fence or brick wall. A good number of the oothecas end up on the wall and are super easy to spot.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Well...My search yielded 0 results . I looked by creeks, large puddles, woods, and fields. Couldn't find a thing. The only interesting thing I got from all that was a woolly bear caterpillar :|

 

[catfishrod69]

Well thats weird. Did you walk right through fields withe tall grass? I mean grasses that havent been mowed.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Well it wasn't just grass field like place. It was like these really tall rod shaped grasses that get like 8 feet tall and have lots of them together and small pine trees and other trees, elderberry's, and thorns. I didn't find any :/

 

[catfishrod69]

That sounds like a ideal spot. Although they are hit and miss. Sometimes you can go out and find tons of them, sometimes none. They might not be laying them quite yet where you are too.

 

[ShredderEmp]

Blame the pesticides and move along...

 

[Biollantefan54]

Well the edge of it has pesticides but I went really deep into 'red hills'. Basically it is a place that has lots of red clay and people ride 4 wheelers and dirt bikes their. I followed some trails in there and looked on trees and TONS of places. They don't use a lot of pesticides right their, I atleast went around 500 feet from any pesticides.

 

[ShredderEmp]

Blame the 4 wheelers.

 

[Biollantefan54]

I don't think it is the 4 wheelers. They have been there long before I was born for years and like I said, the praying mantises were everywhere that one time.

 

[dtknow]

Finding the first is the hardest. You just need to build the search image. Don't be discouraged!

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

Look on man-made structures because they are easiest to see on these. Look up high. Look near lights or in the periphery of porch lights as much as ten feet out. Mantises often come to the lights to feed. Bright lights in the middle of nowhere! And on the twigs/branches of trees near lights.

 

[Biollantefan54]

Sorry I am bumping this thread but my Carolina mantis I just found made an ootheca in her enclosure. Do you think that this means that mantises here are just now laying ootheca's? It is really small lol.

 

[Roktman]

Good luck in your search Biollantefan. I used to find the egg cases all around my local area. Now I haven't seen any in years.


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[hibiscusmile]

When it is cold like this, a mantis will be on the side of things where the sun will hit them, if you see one, her ooth will be nearby