Praying Mantis in my garden

Camera : Fuji FinePix 2800Zoom 

Taken in my garden, Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa

Over the year the visitors to the garden vary according to the season, the weather, the heat, rain, food, shelter, breeding cycle and probably other conditions we can’t know or measure – we don’t know it all, that’s for sure.

This Praying Mantis (Mantidae Stagomantis) was so well camouflaged that I almost missed her. If it wasn’t for a slight movement of one of her front legs, I would never have seen her. This gardener’s friend is a voracious little predator and feeds on harmful insects like aphids and fruit flies, with the adults graduating to flies, butterflies and crickets. Some species even eat small hummingbirds, frogs, lizards, and mice.

The “leaf” on her back is actually her wing! I photographed her in one of our blue Gum trees (Eucalyptus) on our smallholding in Tarlton, South Africa.

By and large many people regard insects with horror as either pests or revolting creepy-crawly creatures to be avoided or worse still, squashed without mercy. Infamous as they may be, insects play such a vital role in the food chain and the global eco-system of the planet that without them, life as we know it, would cease to exist.

The Praying Mantis (Mantidae Stagomantis – Afrikaans “Hottentotsgod”, (literally meaning the god of the Khoi) is named for its prominent front legs, which are bent and held together at an angle that suggests the position of prayer.

Generally, mantises are good for the garden. They’re part of a solution to a pest problem, but they eat beneficials, too. And if nothing else is available, they’ll eat each other! So if you plan having one as a pet, have separate housing for each praying mantis you intend to keep! ... The praying mantis is the only insect capable of rotating its head by 180 degrees, and this, combined with very keen eyesight, is used to observe both predators and prey. Incredibly the mantis’ powerful vision extends over 50 feet. And as if this wasn’t enough they also have hearing abilities that exceed the upper limit of human hearing.

Organic gardeners who avoid pesticides may encourage mantises as a form of biological pest control. Did you know that tens of thousands of mantis egg cases are sold each year in some garden stores for this purpose! During fall, praying mantis females deposit a sticky egg case on the underside of a leaf or on a twig. If the egg case survives winter, the offspring, called nymphs, emerge in late spring or early summer. The nymphs have voracious appetites and typically cannibalize each other if they don’t have an adequate supply of aphids and other small insects. Egg cases are commercially available for placement in landscaping.

She was following my every move as I moved around the tree to get the best shot. Her little head turned with every movement I made, seemingly staring me right in the eye all the while, yet not making the slightest move in case she might give away her position, perfectly camouflaged amongst the leaves. She chose a good spot, as her wings looked exactly like the leaves of the blue gum tree (Eucalyptus) she was resting in.

 I really am always thrilled when I find a Praying Mantis in my garden – these insects are real characters and are not intimidated easily! When I tried to move the leaves to get a better shot, my finger was summarily grabbed and I got a quick nip for my efforts. That didn’t hurt, but the front legs holding onto my finger certainly would have crushed and fatally injured any insect unlucky enough to venture close. I had quite a time convincing her to let go so I could carry on photographing!

Uittreksel uit Siel van Hottentotsgod
Haar koppie draai al in die rondte opsoek na iets sappigs om die honger pyne te stil. Def is ‘n hottentotsgod wat al ‘n paar winters oorleef het hier in die bos geweste. Sy verlang ook nou al baie na haar mannnetjie wat sy al lank terug opgeëet het. Hy sal mos ook nou al trots gewees het op die kleingoed van so by die hele ses. Met haar voorpoot veeg sy ‘n insek traan uit die oë wat altyd waaksaam moet bly. 

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Sacred Earth Plant - Wild Olive

Olea Europaea subsp. africana

Wild Olive / Olienhout, Swartolienhout, Olyfboom  

Tswana: Motlhware 

(SA National Tree number 617) 

My Wild Olive in April 2012

This small, graceful, evergreen tree, stretching its branches to the heavens as it flickers its silvery-gray leaves in the light sunny breeze is a perfect specimen for any garden. Olive trees have a timeless feel to them - young trees can look old, while old trees still express an ageless, graceful beauty. They are among the more long-lived species of trees and can reach a ripe old age of over 500 years. No wonder the ancients regarded the Olive tree as a manifestation of the ever-present life-force: evergreen and long-lived, with a tenacious will to survive against the odds in dry and inhospitable places.

2006

I planted mine at the beginning of 2006 and since then it has just gone from strength to strength. There was one year where I had trouble with a white, woolley infestation on the leaves – presumably Mealy bugs (or woolly aphid), which are certainly the worst and more common insect attack on plants. They can live on the plant or on the roots in the soil and are capable of very rapidly killing large specimens.

Mealy bugs belongs - like other scale insect - to the Coccoidea superfamily and reproduce very rapidly laying their eggs underneath a cotton-like elliptical covering so they can consequently attain large numbers and also quickly acquire resistance to pesticides. They are small (about 1-3mm) and have a characteristic loose, hairy and waxy cover used to build their nests (depending on the species) and retain well-developed legs and thus remain mobile, even as adults, unlike most other scale insects. This means that they can easily spread and infect neighbour plants.

2007

The Wild Olive berry fruit is a favourite for fruit-eating birds, so look out for the Grey Lourie, Speckled and Red-faced Mousebirds, Redwinged and Pied Starlings, rameron and African Green Pigeon and the Blackeyed Bullbul. You may also see Vervet monkeys, Chacma baboon, mongoose and even Warthog and bushpig feeding on the fruit in the tree or on the ground.

2009

The botanical name indicates that this tree is an African variety similar to the one found in Europe. This tree also has some medicinal value. The leaves may be used as a substitute for tea. An infusion made from the bark relieves colic while an infusion of the leaves is used as an eye-lotion for humans and cattle. A concoction of the leaves can be used as a gargle for a sore throat and diphtheria. Powdered dry leaves can be used as a snuff to stop nosebleeds or to stop other kinds of bleeding. A concoction of the roots taken mornings and evenings alleviates kidney and bladder problems.

The hard, heavy and beautiful golden-brown wood is used for furniture, ornaments, spoons and durable fence posts. An ink is made from the juice of the fruit. The early Cape settlers used the fruits to treat diarrhoea.

2010

It is easily propagated from seed or from hardwood cuttings although I bought mine as a sapling. Sow fresh seed in river sand and treat cuttings with a rooting hormone. The slow-growing frost, drought and wind-resistant wild olive makes a good shade or screen plant in the home garden, on golf courses and elsewhere. It is popular for bonsai, street planting, and for use at schools, office complexes, and in parks. It is perfect for dry areas where it is an excellent fodder plant for stock and game and it has also been used to stabilize erosion dongas/ditches.

2011

Here in Gauteng the Wild Olive is found on the southern slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain range – from the rocky areas exposed to all the weather elements, in the kloofs, woodland and down to the river bank areas of the Magalies River. If you should be travelling in China, India, Arabia or on the Mascarene Islands, don’t be surprised to see the Wild Olive there too!

Sources of information :

Olea europaea 

Sacred Earth Ethnobotony & Ecotravel

Mealie bugs