We usually spend our time knee deep in bees or even butterflies but this time we wanted to learn about a new creature's life cycle so we surprised Fi with Praying Mantises! We waited a few weeks until they started emerging from their hardened egg case and wow did a bunch of them emerge!
Praying Mantis go through multiple stages and we got to see them emerge from their hardened egg case as Nymphs.
This is considered an incomplete metamorphosis where the juveniles look just like adults only smaller. At this stage they don't have their wings yet and will continue to shed their exoskeleton in the process known as molting to allow them to continue to grow and develop into the adolescent stage.
After observing our new friends we released them into our yard.
We decided to take a break and make a new drink inspired by the brown and green of the praying mantis we were observing.
Matcha Coconut Latte and Matcha Coconut Whipped Coffee
You'll need:
Coconut Milk
Matcha Powder
A glass with Ice
Whipped Coffee- see here for the recipe
Just mix the water and matcha, add coconut milk to a glass filled with ice and then add the matcha on top. If you are doing the coffee version make sure to save room to add the whipped coffee on top! I really enjoyed the coffee version! Fi was not as big of a fan because the coconut milk was not sweetened.
After our treat we decided to do an easy Praying Mantis craft to attempt to make our very own version out of pipe cleaner. I think they turned out super cute!
Overall it was another fun day of exploring nature and learning something new!
