Anyone know what to feed a praying mantis?

[The Red Rooster]

I found a little praying mantis in the grass as I was driving. I just love the praying mantis personality! I put him in a jar, and now he lives in a lage bug container.

What does he eat? I put a fly in there for him, but he hasn't touched it.

Thanks!

 

[DAFox]

Preying mantis eat soft bodied bugs, spiders, flies, each other. At least 2 or 3 a day up to about 7 for a large adult.
The kindest thing to do, though, is to let it go.
Dale-Ann

 

[bakerjw]

Grab some crickets or grasshoppers. They're pretty plentiful in the fall. I found that if you hold them out for them they'll snatch them from your fingers.

If the abdomen is large and round then it could be a female. If so and you feed it and keep it in a cool place then it may yet lay an egg case. Keep that cool over the winter and in the spring when it warms up you will be bestowed with hundreds of little mantis. I did that in 7th grade.

Great creatures. One of my favorites.

 

[The Red Rooster]

Thanks! I'll do that!

 

[spacecowgirl]

Yes! Crickets and grasshoppers are their favorite! I had one I named Zorak...he (she, probably) was almost 5 inches long. It was so neat watching her sway back and forth before she pounced!

Unfortunately she escaped one day and my cat got her.

Praying mantises are very cool. They do seem to have personalities...they're like little aliens.

 

[deerman]

Quote:

yep on their food.

Alien........fact look at their head .........they really have 5 eyes.......2 large ones on the side , then 3 on their forhead .
. .

 

[Carolyn]

They will eat large butterflies; I saw one do that on my porch last year. Sorry for the butterfly but it was awesome to watch.

 

[bakerjw]

"Zorak" I'm sure that I'm not the only one here who gets that. LOL

 

[popoton]

MY son had one land on his head. It sayed with him for days. My son would feed it flys, It even went with him to the homecoming celebration in out town. When my son went to sleep it would find a place to go .and in the morning josh would put the mantis on his head and off they would go. He named it rodigo. My daughter is creeped out by them so she stayed far way from her brother. He finally put rodigo in a tree and left him there. My son also has dragonflys and butterflies land on him.

 

[BrattishTaz]

Quote:
When he signs up for BYC, he can be called The Bug Whisperer.

Your daughter will be The Smart One (I feel the same way about those creepy things

).