After two months of patiently waiting, our mantis egg cases called an ootheca, finally displayed a small hole. Then we had the arrival of approximately 300 nymphs scurrying around our enclosure. The students enjoyed holding the nymphs and taking lots of up close pictures! They created a journal entry over physical and behavioral characteristics of the nymphs.

We studied this aggressive insect during our arthropod unit and even had an ‘Arthropod Showdown’ between the praying mantis and the Brazilian wandering spider.