Praying Mantis: The Hatching! (and a Salamander Larvae Bonus)

So we came home one day to find this! Adorable baby praying mantids had hatched from the egg case! 

Each one about 4 millimeters long! 

The mantids went into a larger jar with some things to crawl on, then we added flightless fruitflies and a tiny water dish

They are great fun to watch

The reason we were gone that day was because Big Sister and a friend were digging up ancient artifacts at a dig site (more on that later) and Little Brother and his friend were with me, exploring the area near the dig site.
Obviously, we found salamander larvae...

These guys are also very cute! Little Brother's friend has a great eye for discovery. She saw these 'tadpoles' and noticed immediately that they had external gills...so they must be, as she said, "Newtpoles!".

Dig those tiny, skinny legs! These guys are about 1 inch to an inch and a half. Also, there are two frog tadpoles and a water critter known as the Predaceous Diving Beetle larvae. He is a real tiger and scares me!