Arrrgh!!!

Poor praying mantis. It is near the end of their season, I think, so it probably died of natural causes. They are kind of cute and certainly useful insects.

Ugh! Not very pretty though I suspect that I could have coped with expelling it from the house. Now if it was a spider it would have been a different matter.

I'm sure you're right, Cop Car. We're pretty sure from the look of it, that the bug may have been brought in dead, rather than making it into the house and dying.

Adele, it would have been easy enough to sweep it up with a dustpan, but I left it so that DH could see it. These bugs are verying interesting to watch, and not threatening to humans. Usually the variety that we see are green and a bit smaller than this one, and they are GREAT to have in your garden!

I didn't realise that Preying Mantises ate lots of insects. Now that's something we can do with over here. As it is we mainly rely on ladybirds, toads (we have one in the garden - someone around here must have a pond) and some birds.

As it is I've only ever seen them in zoos or on tv.

Adele--One may buy pods of preying mantis eggs which are interspersed in ones garden to hatch out voracious little aphid-eating machines. Too, we may buy ladybugs (I don't know what they would be called in the UK or whether you have them--tiny beetles with black-dotted red wing shells).

Adele, Elegante Mother bought a "toad abode." It's a terra cotta dish of sorts, with a mouse hole shape cut into one edge. You turn the dish upside down, and keep it moist in the summer, and it will attract toads. The terra cotta is unglazed, and the dish has a dip in the top to hold a little water. The terra cotta creates air conditioning for the toads.

You mean that you BUY preying manises to eat garden insects? Well, I didn't expect that! I wish one could do that over here. I mentioned this to John and he asked whether it was the larvae or the actual preying manis that ate aphids. He also described the actual preying manis as looking repulsive and saying that he didn't think he'd want them in the garden. I'm not sure that I entirely agree but just how big are they?

It sounds to me as if your ladybugs may be our ladybirds. What I am talking about can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/412.shtml. However we don't buy them. They are just native to our countryside and appear every year to eat all our aphids.

A toad abode. What a daft name! I am racking me brain though to try to work out if I've ever seen such a thing among some of those things one sees in garden centres but never buys. Let's face it toads just like damp ground and areas and if you have such a thing in your garden then they will just stay there of their own volition.

Having said all that I have to say that with this years drought and everywhere having been so dry and baked all summer that we havent seen the toad since the Spring. I hope that he has found somewhere to hide away safely.

We had a toad that lived in our sump pump basin for years. Defer, our dog, would go down to check on him now and then. *G*

Yeah...a "toad abode" is daft...but it struck my mother funny, and is the type of kitschy decoration that appeals to her now and then. So much for elegance!

Adele, yes, ladybirds and ladybugs are the same. We also have an orangey shaded ladybug that BITES....darned things! I think someone told me it was an Asian version, but I haven't researched it yet.

Yes, we can buy beneficial insects. This site (Gardens Alive!) http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=55 sells ladybugs, lacewings and nematodes.
Sites like this: http://wardsci.com/product.asp?pn=IG0013503&sid=google&cm_mmc=google-_-cpc-_-ward-_-buyprayingmantis sell Praying Mantis egg cases, so you can grow them at home.

The mantis we found was unusually large, perhaps six or seven inches, but the ones we usually see are generally about four inches long. Yes, they are odd creatures, but fascinating, and very helpful in the garden.

Adele, yes, ladybirds and ladybugs are the same. We also have an orangey shaded ladybug that BITES....darned things! I think someone told me it was an Asian version, but I haven't researched it yet.

Yes, we can buy beneficial insects. This site (Gardens Alive!) http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=55 sells ladybugs, lacewings and nematodes.
Sites like this: http://wardsci.com/product.asp?pn=IG0013503&sid=google&cm_mmc=google-_-cpc-_-ward-_-buyprayingmantis sell Praying Mantis egg cases, so you can grow them at home.

The mantis we found was unusually large, perhaps six or seven inches, but the ones we usually see are generally about four inches long. Yes, they are odd creatures, but fascinating, and very helpful in the garden.

Good grief, Buffy! I don't think I've seen a praying mantis that was more than a couple of inches long. Whooo--eeee!

Hmmm, do you have any native species that eat/dispose of unwanted things like aphids? Is that why you have to buy some?

With our ladybirds there is no need to think about adding competition in the form of a preying mantis or two. However they do soud fascinating creatures. Howeve John woudn't agree. And given that the only live one are to be found in captivity it sounds as if it would be cruel to obtain some and release them into the wild. I couldn't be doing with that!