Shell-less Egg

Our mystery chicken laid a completely shell-less egg this week. 

That is a very soft, membrane only egg, the size of a large grape.

We dissected it, of course.

Inside, we found another membrane covered egg sac, surrounded by egg whites only.

Inside that little one, we found egg whites only.

Weird.

Mantis Egg Sac

Lily noticed this in a cedar tree the last time we went for a walk.   I was lucky to have the camera with me because I am always on the lookout for these.

It's the egg sac of a praying mantis. 

They look like styrofoam and you can find them on trees, weeds, twigs, brush, etc.  

We have a few different kinds of mantids out here, but I think this sac is from the praying mantis - Mantis religiosa.

In the spring, they'll hatch out by the hundreds [I hope] and eat plenty of other bugs.

Someday I want to see the hatching....maybe next year?