Here is what's on my wall:
This also blends in well with its surroundings. Here it is from farther away (in the center of the picture):
Wikipedia says that praying mantis oothecae are laid in the fall, and hatch in the late spring. They are valuable for organic farmers, because all the newly hatched babies have ravenous appetites for aphids and other pests. [I originally typed 'oothecas', but the spellchecker complained. I looked up the proper plural on dictionary.com. Once I had the correct plural, the spellchecker still complained; it turns out, it thought I was typing 'toothache'.]
While I'm on the subject of bugs, I saw this spider in my basement tonight.
It looks like it could be the offspring of the one that was living in my garage two years ago!
