Michael: I see Mantid egg cases nearly every fall when I clean out the pepper plants from the past season. The cases I find appear as rough, baglike structures, often more than an inch long, attached to a pepper branch at the end of the case. The material of a Mantid egg case is extremely tough, like styrofoam on steroids. It is so tough that it is difficult to cut even with a sharp knife. I have never seen a Mantid case laid flat against a tree branch or twig as yours is. The fact that I have never seen it does not mean, of course, that it never happens, but I have seen quite a few of them since Mantises are active in my peppers and tomatoes nearly every season in late summer. Your egg case also appears to have suffered some physical damage on the surface, though the photo may be misleading in this respect. The tough material of a Mantid case would normally not suffer any damage from environmental conditions. If the egg case was hit directly with dormant oil, the prognosis for any creatures inside would not be good, whatever they may be, since the purpose of oil spray is precisely to smother overwintering insects. When I find egg cases on the pepper plants, I cut off a small part of the branch to which it is attached, and place it in a glass fishbowl with screen wire on top, then bring it in to my attached greenhouse, where the winter temperature never falls below freezing. If the case is healthy, hundreds of little mantises, about the size of healthy mosquitoes, emerge with the warmth in late April or May. I don't know how the little rascals get through that tough styrofoam, but they do, and when I figure they have all hatched out I take the fishbowl outdoors, remove the screen wire, and set them free. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

no idea about the foliage, would it help more if I took some more detailed pictures of the stems, etc...? Fragrance, I'd say it smells really nice, you can't smell it from far away (like Jude the Obscure) but when you smell the flower of this mystery rose, it has a definite sweet old-rose smell to me... the way grandma's rose perfume smells to me. Kinda like Penelope or Lavender Lassie perhaps... I can't remember off the top of my head. ah, but I suppose, I love the flower, so it doesn't really matter what it is, but I'd love to know, and on top of that, knowing what it is would help me find a better place for it. (so happy to have a mystery rose that isn't RED.)

Does the foliage of the top one have a rather unpleasant smell when crushed? It looks very similar to Solanum crispum. What did the seed look like? Or was it a cutting?

The blooms of stressed roses don't always look like they would on a healthy bush. She might be totally different with some TLC. So good of you to care for this little orphan.