Abby Connolly
As the Christmas season comes to a close, people are beginning to dispose of their festive trees. Whether you own a real live tree or a glitzy fake one, there is always that little pang of melancholy that comes with putting away your tree.
However, one family was completely stumped as to what to do with their tree when they found a ton of little bugs in their fancy red tree. But not just any kind of bug, praying mantises!
“They are everywhere on this tree,” says TikTok user Angela Rouege (@angelarouege) as she pans her camera around her Christmas tree, covered in the tiny insects.
One day when Angela and her family arrived home, they discovered that the mantises were all over their tree, which had already been decorated and red-flocked.
Their shocked and slightly horrified screams can be heard in the video as they discover that the mantises had spread up to the tree topper and even onto their living room walls.
When opening the video, you may have to watch it a few times and look closely. They might be hard to spot at first, but once you do, you’ll see that there must’ve been hundreds of them in Angela’s house!
About one week ago, Angela shared a video of her and her family trying to catch the mantises from her living room one by one in an effort to save and release them.
This was probably for the best because although praying mantises aren’t an endangered species, their habitats are on the decline.
According to National Geographic, European praying mantises can be found in “shrubland, savannas, grassland.” They also thrive in warmer climates, which is fitting in Angela’s case since she lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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