Identify Unknown Ootheca or Egg Sac?

[CosbyArt]

I recently found a unknown egg sac/ooth perhaps mantid or other insect. I was curious if anyone could identify it and if it has already hatched, ruined, or may still hatch.

I found it on the wooden fence that surrounds my backyard, about 30 inches from the ground. It seems there are holes in it as well.

 

[Aryia]

Looks like a chinese (tenodera) ootheca that was very heavily attacked by something to me. I doubt anything would come out of it, especially considering that right now is the wrong season for ootheca to be hatching. It was probably left over from last season~

The holes are the places the eggs would've been in. Usually the eggs go missing when the ootheca either hatches or when something invades the ootheca. I personally haven't seen an invasion but I would think ants would be capable of something like this.

 

[Ranitomeya]

I agree with Aryia, it appears to be an empty Tenodera ootheca. The outer foam falls apart fairly easy after a season or two, but the inner foam that protects the egg tends to remain intact enough that you can see the individual cells where eggs were.

Aside from other invertebrates, birds will often peck at oothecae and eat the eggs and developing embryos as well. This one appears to have hatched out and then been investigated by a bird that ended up finding nothing inside.

 

[Rick]

It is an old Tenodera ootheca. It has just been weathered.

 

[Digger]

What Rick said

 

[CosbyArt]

Many thanks for the quick responses and help. Seems it is unanimously decided it's a Tenodera ooth. Glad to see at least there is another mantid species in my area, and my own backyard no less.

As there is nothing left in the ooth, I'll collect it then as an example.

 

[happy1892]

Tenodera sinensis because there is no other Tenodera species known in the United States with oothecae like that. Tenodera angustipennis is another species in the United States, but their oothecae are different in looks.