While doing some weeding in the back corner of the yard I was surprised by this: the ootheca of a Chinese mantis. This means in a few weeks many tiny mantids will emerge and begin eating any insect they can catch, including each other. Most likely we will find one or possibly two adults in late summer, as large as an outstretched palm, with searching intelligent looking eyes and raptorial forelegs. It's not a native species, alas, nor is it legally protected in any way despite popular misconception.