And Ootheca 3 ... launch!

That's all folks. The one under the light hatched almost a week before the two more shaded eggs. Those two hatched within a day of each other.

Ootheca 2 ... launch!

The babies are falling about a foot (one of ours, not one of theirs) onto the slope of the bromeliad leaves below. They love bromeliad cover and some have already staked out territory.

Babies babies everywhere!

Ootheca 1 ... launch!

Hooray! The first egg hatched last night and we're buried in babies.

Whiteflies you've met your match!

A Visit From the Queen

Well, the queen of her own shell that is.

The mighty Terrapin in da house!

Something now Captain, very small

The Bird of Paradise has split its rootball sheath and a strange looking shoot now emerges from the crack. I hope it doesn't turn into a triffid or something.

Summer in April

Ouch! Temps are scorching and we're barely into Spring. Indiana toggles from Winter to Summer and back again. I feel ripped off.

Started some of the Hungarian black peppers both inside (hydro) and on my deck (soil). Should be interesting to compare them later! The Thai pepper continues to produce abundant fruit and now droops over the recovered bell pepper plant in the same deep water system.

The tomatoes are home to zillions of whiteflies. Why has this become a problem only now? I have to wonder if it's the lack of baby mantids. Planet Natural hopes to ship ootheca next week and they can't get here too soon. I miss my bugs.