Week 23: “Praying Mantises Hatch”

June 03 – June 09 is the 23rd week of 2024.  This week, we have the Solar Terms of Grain Buds (May 20 – June 04) and Grain in Ear (June 05 – June 20).  The micro-seasons in this week are  “Wheat Ripens and is Harvested” (May 31 – June 05) and “Praying Mantises Hatch” (June 06 -June 10).

Basho, Issa, Buson, Reichhold, and Kerouac wrote the poems selected for this week.  

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The 24 Solar Terms 

The 24 solar terms were created by farmers in ancient China  (206 BCE and 24 CE) to help guide their agricultural activities. Each solar term is 15 days long and is based on the climate around Xi’an, the capital of China during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). ⁽¹⁾

Grain in Ear

Grain in Ear is the ninth Solar Term of the year and the third Solar Term of Summer. Mangzhong (芒种) is the Chinese name for this season. Mangzhong means “wheat with awn should be harvested soon, and rice seeds with awn can be sown”.⁽²⁾  An awn is a stiff bristle that forms on grasses and grains. Grain in Ear is traditionally a busy time for farmers in China. 

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The 72 Seasons

The 72-season calendar was established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai.  Each season lasts for about 5 days and offers “a poetic journey through the Japanese year in which the land awakens and blooms with life and activity before returning to slumber.”⁽⁴⁾

The micro-seasons in this week are  ““Wheat Ripens and is Harvested” (May 31 – June 05) and “Praying Mantises Hatch” (June 06 -June 10).

The Praying Mantis

The European Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) is the species most commonly associated with the term “Praying Mantis”. However, “Praying Mantis” may refer to any of the approximately 2500 insect species within the order Mantodea. These insects, which are found on every continent except Antarctica, have elongated bodies, triangular heads, bulging eyes, and forelegs specially adapted for catching and gripping prey. 

Mantises are carnivorous insects whose diet typically consists of other insects but will sometimes include small vertebrates like lizards, frogs, and fish. The mantises are silent hunters who launch sudden attacks on their prey.  During an attack, a mantis will spring forward and grasp their victim with their forelegs. Their forelegs are also known as raptorial legs. The forelegs have multiple sections and the second and third sections have interlocking spines that, once locked together, make it nearly impossible for the prey to escape.^(5,6)

Life Cycle of the Praying Mantis

Mantises hatch from their eggs in spring or early summer. The newly hatched mantises are called nymphs and look similar to an adult mantis. After several molts, the nymphs reach adulthood and are ready to mate. Mating usually happens in late summer or early fall. The females lay their eggs on plants in a foamy secretion called an ootheca. This secretion hardens to create a protective “nursery” in which the eggs remain over the winter.

Praying Mantises’ mating behavior has been studied extensively by scientists because they engage in sexual cannibalism.  It is estimated that the male mantis becomes a meal for the female mantis about 30% of the time.^(5,6)

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Astronomical Season

June 09, the last day of week 23.  June 9 is 82 days past the spring equinox and 11 days until the summer solstice (June 20, 2024).  

June’s New Moon

The new Moon in June occurred on June 06, 2024.  A new Moon is when the Moon is directly between the Earth and the Sun.  This puts the Moon’s shadow toward the Earth making it difficult for us to see.

If we look at the field of astrology, we find out that June’s new Moon coincides with the astrological sign of Gemini (May 21 – June 21).  Jill Wintersteen, a columnist for Yoga Journal, explains, “The new Moon in Gemini brings us much active energy in the mental realm. You may feel that your mind is wandering in many directions or that your body feels restless and impatient.”  This new Moon also provides us with “an opportunity to reframe our lives. It’s a chance to become aware of how our expectations and beliefs affect our ability to manifest our visions. It’s also a time to find silver linings and unexpected results from life’s many challenges.”

If you want to learn more about June’s new Moon and the field of astrology, read Wintersteen’s full article.

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Haiku and Kigo 

The kigo, or season word, is one of the key parts of the haiku.  The Yuki Teikei Haiku Society provides us with the following explanation for why we use kigo in haiku. 

“A kigo is a poetic device used in haiku to denote a season; it’s a powerful word or phrase that can conjure up many allusions, historical references, spiritual meanings, and/or cultural traditions. Its use in haiku, a poem of few words, is especially effective because of this power to expand its meaning beyond the literal and to create a larger aura of seasonal mood, historical/ literary context, and/or cultural implications.”⁽⁹⁾

Visit The Haiku Foundation’s “New To Haiku: What is a Kigo?” for more information

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This Week’s Kigo

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto “ants”, “mosquitos”, “flies” and “moths” are all relevant insect kigo for this week. 

In Jane Reichhold’s A Dictionary of Haiku,  “ants”, “bugs”, “ladybugs”, and “moths” are other relevant insect kigo. 

Looking at the World Kigo Database by Dr. Gabi Greves, the “praying mantis” is an autumn kigo.  The “baby mantis” is a mid-summer kigo, and the “withering praying mantis” is an early winter kigo.   

With all this in mind, let’s read some haiku. 

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Basho

when is it a lifesaver?
on a leaf an insect 
sleeps on a journey
(translated by Jane Reichhold)

butterflies flit . . . 
that is all, amid the field 
of sunlight 
(translated by Makoto Ueda)

Issa

the praying mantis
hangs by one hand...
temple bell
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

the praying mantis's
shy expression...
wild roses
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

until the winged ants
come out
my fortunate hut
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

Taking a nap
in my hometown —
pesky flies
(translated by Allan Persinger)

Reichhold

bone white
ants carrying away
the darkness

the sting
of a summer alarm clock
mosquitoe

Kerouac

How'd those guys
    get in here,
those two flies?

Too hot to write
   haiku--crickets
and mosquitoes

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Haiku invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu about crawling insects.

Share your haiku in the comments below, or post on your page and link back. I can’t wait to read what you write! 

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Let’s Spread the Joy of Haiku!

Buy a haiku book for the Woodbury Community Library (Woodbury, VT) and help them spread the joy of haiku! Follow this link to see the wish list and how you can help.

Thank you for your support!

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About the Haiku

Basho’s haiku were retrieved from “Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanesewith English translations” Editor: Gábor Terebess.  Issa’s haiku were retrieved from David G. Lanoue’s Haiku Guy. Buson’s haiku was retrieved from Foxfire: the Selected Poems of Yosa Buson, a Translation by Allan Persinger. Jane Reichhold’s haiku were retrieved from the Dictionary of Haiku. Kerouac’s haiku was retrieved from Kerouac’s  Book of Haikus.

1. “The 24 Solar Terms”; China Educational Tours
2. “6 Solar Terms of Summer”; China Educational Tours
3. 72 Seasons App
4. “Japan’s 72 Microseasons”; Nippon.com
5. “Mantis”; Wikipedia
6. “Praying Mantis”; National Geographic
7. Wintersteen, Jill. “What the New Moon in Gemini Means for You”. Yoga Journal