Robert and Valerie Stofferan reported a Praying Mantis at their house last Wednesday. When the photographer arrived the insect was perched on the front window. Valerie identified this subject as a male. She reported that they had seen a female in their garden last year in June. Iowa State Extension reports that the natural life cycle of the Praying Mantis is to eat and grow through the summer and then mate and lay eggs in a stiff foamy case in the fall. Adults die of old age or freezing, whichever comes first and the eggs persist through the winter (if the weather is mild) and repeat the cycle the following summer. There is only one generation per year. It is believed that recent mild winters have allowed the Praying Mantis to spread farther into northwest Iowa.
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