Coolest Biology lesson in the greenhouse yesterday - Over the years we have moved more and more to using biological controls (good bugs that eat bad bugs) and significantly reduced the number and amount of spraying we have had to do for pest control in the greenhouse. In addition to bringing in predator bugs, we have worked to improve the population of natural predator bugs in our environment. We have been blessed to have a healthy population of praying mantis on our property. This spring we hatched out a couple of praying mantis egg sacks that we released in the greenhouses. All summer we have watched them grow and work to protect our plants. So yesterdays lesson - we were picking grape tomatoes only to discover a female praying mantis laying her eggs in the middle of a cluster of tomatoes. We were able to watch her ooze out the egg sack (looks like spray foam insulation) and inject her eggs one by one into the sack/blob of goo that supports them. This process took over 24 hours and counting! Needless to say - those tomatoes will be sacrificed for a higher good. It is not often that we see all stages of the lifecycle so I thought Id share.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 23:49:47 +0000