The great outdoors can produce baffling mysteries. MVTimes Wild Side columnist Matt Pelikan tries his best to solve them. Got a question for the Wild Side? Send it to onisland@mvtimes.com.
Hi Matt,
Almost stepped on this beautiful mantis on my way into work! Do you know why some are green and some are brown like this? Also, where do they go for the winter?
Thanks,
Danielle
Hi, Danielle,
Probably a Chinese mantis — introduced in the 19th century to the U.S. and now quite common and widespread. It’s the only mantis I’ve found here. They vary from all green to all brown, and this two-color scheme is pretty typical.
The adults do not survive a hard freeze, so this one will die soon, but the females will have laid eggs by now — a bunch of eggs concealed in a sort of foamy mass about the size of a large marble or golf ball, which is usually stuck to vegetation. Those will hatch next spring, and the survivors will mate and lay eggs late in the summer.
Best,
Matt
