When Mantises come out in Tucson

Here is a clip from a newspaper when the Iris oratoria, or Mediterranean mantis begins to hatch in Tucson in the spring (with the day I noticed hatching of multiple ootheca circled). In the winter Tucson and the surrounding foothills generally experience 55-75˚F highs and 32-45˚F lows with a few weeks that can dip as low as 28˚F. During the summer, days are between 90-110˚F during the day and 65-85˚ at night. Spring and fall are incredibly short, only lasting 2-3 weeks (with the occasional 4 weeks) in which the temperature ranges from 70-90˚ during the day.

The majority of the rain (and humidity) occur during two times of the year. During the winter, slower more steady rain that cover large areas can fall anywhere between October and April. During the summer Monsoon season, very heavy violent rains fall in generally isolated areas any time between the beginning of July to the middle of September. Otherwise, humidity in Tucson and the surrounding areas is generally low (if outside of a canyon or wash). I hope this helps anyone wanting to hatch mantis ootheca that are native to southern Arizona.