ootheca

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Recently, I posted about praying mantises; it was their mating season.

Once mated, the females can lay as many as 400 eggs depending on the species. Eggs are deposited in a frothy mass--much like meringue but not as tasty--that is produced by glands in the abdomen. The froth hardens to a consistency something like that of Styrofoam, creating a protective casing. The resulting egg mass is called an ootheca."

The other day I found my first ootheca (Great Scrabble word: four vowels) in an ironweed going to seed at the nature center.

- Photo taken at Ijams Nature Center

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