With this weekend’s rain, Charlottesville’s lawns and gardens are truly coming alive. Predator and prey insects of all sorts are hatching and emerging. This is the beginning of summer’s great bustle. They are tiny, but they ARE there. The next time you enjoy the solace of your outdoor space, or maybe just on a walk to work, stop and have a closer look. Today I observed between 15-20 tiny mantids (either praying mantis, or Chinese mantids) in a small patch of Lariope. That was just the beginning!
A ten minute search unveiled many juvenile insects. The photos are some of the insects we found in a 5′ x 10′ section of the yard. Of course, there were many more…like ants and pill bugs, wasps and bees. But, this was the first time we had noticed so many freshly emerged insects all at one time. I suspect tomorrow’s sunshine will bring awesome insect activity!
