Reports are coming in that the Praying Mantis pods are hatching. Keep an eye out. If you catch them just as they are leaving the pod, you can help them disperse. Gently approach them, letting them climb or hop onto your hand, then take them to different areas of your garden. Let them off in the foliage of a plant you hope they might protect. Praying Mantids tend to stay in the same place once they find a place they feel comfortable in.

The Praying Mantids are hatching in Reno. This one, about 1/2 inch long in this image (June 15, 2009), has found a backyard home. Once a mantis takes up residence in a plant, they typically will remain there until maturity, growing up to five inches in length by summer's end. Mantids will tolerate the presence of humans as long as they behave themselves. Find out more about this amazing garden predator. You will want a few of your own.