Does anybody here raise mantids?

[ninjascrub69]

My nephew wants to start keeping mantids, and i was wondering if any of you have experience with raising them (he's having trouble convincing his parents, and asked me to help

)

 

[kuntrygirl]

No, but would like to know what's a mantid.

ETA: Oooooooooo, a praying mantis!!! I love those!!!! But I don't have any. Would be a cool pet.

 

[farmerlor]

Well, we didn't RAISE them per se but we bought lots of eggs and let them hatch as beneficial insects for the garden. The kids used to catch them and play with them. Wonderful, gentle (can an insect be gentle?), curious alien critters. Anyway, the kids loved them and I love them in the garden so it's a win-win for us.

 

[wildorchid053]

yes we have.. they are awesome!!!! they are teeny tiny little things to grow up to such big bugs.... the are in a sack, sort of like crispy and they hatch great.. we let them go in the garden. one stayed on a potted plant the whole summer and you could lift up a leaf and see how he grew week by week he was kind of hard to find when he was so little.. we have also done the butterflies. they do well too

 

[DelcoChix]

I too was going to ask what a 'mantid' was

I thin k they are the coolest critturs, enjoy watching one on the old tractor behind our barn the summer. I saw an ad on Craigslist within the last week--someone advertising Praying Mantis 'Pods" for sale...seemed kind of sad to sell them.. Just remember my husband telling me the story of when he was a kid he found a weird (of course p.m. pod) egg case, took it to school like a good kid for "show-n-tell"...well, in the warmth of the classroom guess what happened? Yeah, a bazillion min-mantisses were scuttling all around the classroom..yeah a lesson they all remembered.....

 

[claud]

We often bring the egg sacks in to let them hatch. Make sure you have a small-mesh covering on top of your container - they are tiny.

You can't really keep them though because they will eat each other. You have to let them go soon after they hatch.

 

[redhen]

What do their pods look like?

 

[deerman]

Look like a hard sponge about the size of a walnut.



I alway caught one as a boy, now have my grandson doing it.

Few thing i fought about them , the females eats the male after they mate look at one real close they have 5 eyes two large ones and 3 small ones on their forehead
they eat their prey(grasshopper and etc) head first.

 

[bakerjw]

I used to catch them when I was a kid and tie a thread around them to keep them as pets. It was neat to catch another bug and give it to them. They'd tend to be leery at first but when their little brain no longer perceived you as a threat they would grab the bug and eat it.

We have a lot of them around our house and I still catch them when I see them. Usually they are in the crass and would get hurt by mowing so I put them up in shrubs and what not.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! I haven't raised any here in a few years.
They are neat critters.

Chickens think they are tasty.

Lisa