MAMA BUGS

In honor of Mothers Day, we want to share some of the Great Mothers of the Bug world. Even if you feel a shiver in your spine, it’s always good to know that the Mama instinct runs strong, even in some insects. Here are a couple of very fun facts that you probably didn’t know! 

Spiders:

Maybe you despise their creepiness or maybe you appreciate their contribution to our ecosystems. Either way, we can’t deny they are really good Mamas! Mother Spiders that spin webs will protect their eggs in a silk sac and hang them in a safe corner. If they are threatened in any way, she will protect the sac with her own body. Even abandoning her old web to make a new and safe web home for her babies. So the next time you see a web, try to remember that a devoted mother and her babies might be hanging on. The only spider in the world that carries her baby everywhere she goes is the Wolf Spider. Wolf Spiders don’t spin a web so she keeps them in a silk sac as well, but this one stays attached to her. As a whole, spiders are very motherly. Magnus spiders are very motherly as their babies completely depend on milk for their first three weeks. I think we can say that these arachnids deserve a little bit more respect.

 Scorpions:

Mama scorpion will keep her babies on her back for several weeks after they are born. Scorpion babies are born just like most mammals. No eggs to hatch from or anything. When they are born their exoskeletons aren’t hard and they aren’t strong enough to provide or protect themselves. Naturally, Mama saves the day. 

Wasps & Bees:

Wasp Mama will work hard and all alone to build a nest in a location with plenty of food and safety. She lays her eggs and then hunts for food. Her babies will only eat meat foods like grasshoppers, caterpillars, and other bigger creepy crawlies, so she goes out into battle every day to find food for her young. When the baby females become adults, they take over responsibilities and begin hunting for the larvae and even expanding the nest. Once everything has a system, our Queen Mama just eats and lays eggs.  

Bees have a hive mentality of raising babies too. Queen Bee Mama will just lay her eggs full time while an entire hive helps to look after the young. It is amazing and it is a reminder that sometimes it really does take a village. 

German Cockroaches: 

I think we already know too much about these Mamas. Well, we at least know that when they start breeding, it can wreak complete havoc in your home. Roach Mama will lay 30-40 eggs in her ootheca case and she will carry it around with her until she finds a safe place for it. These critters are very social, as we know. The adults teach the young where to find food and water and the boundaries of safety. It is interesting and disturbing! 

We love our Human Mothers and we are so thankful for all that you do. Happy Mother’s Day from Nova Pest Control! Call us today and let us help you rid your homes of every insect Mama we find!