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Where We Left Off:
The Chipmunk Mafia convened meetings amongst their members and other critters including Guster Nabu. They agreed that the deforestation and dehabitation problems are not over.
Grant Us a Mantis:
Gus and I were near the mobile command unit parking lot which connects to the private road. Gus felt that he had things to do that were more important than what I wanted to do. I spotted The Grumpy Old Man down the slope near the lower parking area where my car was. I saw him weeding around the lilac bush on the corner there and thought to myself, “I hope he doesn’t weed behind the cars.” Because I felt it was more important to keep up with Gus, I didn’t backtrack and tell The Grumpy Old Man to leave the other “weeds” alone.
Needless to say, Gus and I ended up in the junkyard to look for critters and put out snacks. We surveilled the area for a little while before he decided to go to work inside the hangar for some indoor mousing time. By the time we got back down the slope, sure enough, the mugwort behind the cars had been pulled and removed.
I honestly didn’t expect The Grumpy Old Man to be so aggressive in his weeding because none of us are avid gardeners. It’s a lot to keep up with in all weather.
The Cook came outside with Oliver in his buggy to hand him over to me. Wrangling both Gus and Ollie is difficult. I don’t get the chance to enjoy the time because inevitably Gus will try leading the way to an area not easily accessible by carriage. I dropped Gus’ leash and let him inspected the freshly weeded area while I explained to The Cook what happened. I was sad and worried about those cocoons because it’s my understanding that mantids are great for eating pesky bugs.
Gus and I checked with a few of our wildlife friends, but none of them had any useful information on The Mantis or natural mantids. Not the Chipmunk Mafia. Not even the wolpertingers and rabbits elected to the council.
She said, “He didn’t know. I’m sure of it.” I didn’t disagree that the old man was unaware of the cocoons, but I was still filled with sorrow about the situation.
Praying mantises are bugs too and it’s not that I particularly like them. My list of bugs I like is short. Butterflies. Some moths if they aren’t inside or annoying me too. Lightning bugs, again as long as they aren’t annoying me. Short list.
We were also not sure if the cocoons were natural mantids like Chinese mantises or if they were part of the cryptid community like The Mantis, a human-sized mantid creature who has been seen near the Musconetcong River.
Our case findings from April stated:
Gus has successfully found two cocoons believed to be newly laid by Mantis cryptids. Oliver thinks the timing of the fish restocking in the waterways is a connection to when Mantis creatures reproduce and that those fish are a food source for them. We will try to monitor the cocoons to see if we can tell when the creatures hatch. We also need to follow up on whether there’s a special need for mantids to be near mugwort.
The Butler monitors the crime logs and news of the towns to the east; I monitor the news from the west. He’s come across a lot of interesting news—including a car floating down the Musconetcong River, perps stealing tip jars from businesses, and someone driving their car through a bagel shop. There have been bear reports from both sides of observations, but no mention of a giant mantid.
Then something remarkable happened!
The Cook rushed over to me after the boys and I came in from one our patrols. She said there was something we had to see in the cellar! (It’s creepy down there, no thank you).
“There’s a baby praying mantis!” she said. “You have to get it and take it outside!”
“Me? Uh, nooooo. You can do it,” I said.
She found a small canning jar and hustled down the terrifying staircase without any worries of ghostly hands reaching through and tripping her. She came back with this tiny little creature in the jar. Fortunately, it was staying in there and not urgently trying to escape.
I used my phone and my camera to try and take photos of it. I was not having success. It seemed every setting I tried was the wrong one. The creature might have been curious or angry. I couldn’t tell. Their expressions don’t exactly change. They just look angry all the time with their huge eyes and mandibles that can crush through an arthropod’s exoskeleton with ease.
My “this-thing-is-a-bug-that-can-crawl-and-bite-you” senses were at the cusp of activating which meant, I needed to back away from the creature immediately. I called The Cook over and told her to take it outside for safe release. Gus and Oliver had no part in this plan. Gus was busy gulping down his post-adventure repast and Oliver needed to relieve himself and get to the balcony to eat grass and drink from the fountain before he logged on to do a livestream.
The Cook left through the dining room. When she returned, she reported that the creature was placed on a leaf in the red bush next to the stone path.
Case Findings:
This is a case were things were good then unfortunate then hopeful. The mantis cocoons behind the cars were removed during weeding unbeknownst to The Grumpy Old Man that they were there. Gus, Oliver, and I were concerned that a rare cryptid species would lose possible offspring. The Cook found a newborn mantis inside the house and relocated outside safely. We don’t know if it’s a natural or supernatural creature yet and will continue monitoring the news for any sightings of new Mantis monster.
Case Status: Open