As Mother’s Day approaches, our hearts turn fondly to the sweet mothers in our lives. They are kind, selfless, sacrificing and were the ones who nurtured us into the successful adults we are today. But did you know that many insects have these same values? We always talk about how gross and disgusting insects are, which they ARE when they are in your house, but some of these are rather remarkable and their mothering instincts are quite impressive. Here are a few of the incredible mothers of the insect world:
Praying mantis
When the female praying mantis sees a predator coming, she ushers her young to the end of a twig and positions herself between the threat and her babies, poised in a position for attack. She will not back down and most would be attackers retreat rather than face this angry mommy.
Earwig
These insects aren’t exactly endeared by us humans but in the bug world, she is a doting mother. Once she lays her 20-80 eggs, she rarely leaves their sight, guarding and defending them. She cleans them and once hatched, she will deliver food to them dutifully until after their first molt and are ready to leave her care.
Cockroach
There is a reason cockroach populations explode once they make it into your house and it’s because they are great mothers. They do a fantastic job of keeping their young cared for so they can make it into adulthood and torment you further. She creates a protective casing for her eggs called an ootheca, which she carries around with her until she finds a safe spot for them to hide till hatching.
Lace bug
The biggest predator to the lace bug is the damsel bug so when this dangerous monster comes near her nymphs, she will jump on the back of this much larger bug and fan out her wings in an attempt to distract it and slow it down so her babies can scuttle away. Most often her young are spared and the mom will have given her life for her offspring.
Bees and wasps
Not only do these insects create the most elaborate and intricate home of any in the insect world specifically for their young, the whole hive works together for the good of the offspring. The queen mother lays all the eggs and looks after them until they are young, employing her drones to help her. This is a family centered effort and they deserve the award for tight knit family of the year.
These insects deserve much needed praise as tender, caring mothers in the insect world, unlike the walking stick who is the worst mother. She just dumps her eggs out wherever she wants without a care for the danger they are placed in or if they are close to a food source when they hatch. So while we love to hate all these insects when they get into our homes, they are rather remarkable creatures that we can appreciate completely when they are in nature—where they belong. If nature breaks into your house, you know who to call. Pointe Pest Control is there for you!
