Praying Mantis Thread

[DogAndCat36]

I think that it would be good to try to make a thread where we talk about mantids.


I recently got into mantids and got 2 Chinese praying mantids, they are 10 days old.

This is Galo

This is Aina

You might know where I got the names.

 

[KingD]

That's cool!
How big do they get? 5/6 inches?
I've actually seen mantis's in the wild!

 

[DogAndCat36]

That's cool!
How big do they get? 5/6 inches?
I've actually seen mantis's in the wild!

They can get to the size of 5 inches.

 

[BlueBaby]

Now that's one bug that I like and won't kill, because they eat other bug's and do no damage.

 

[KingD]

What sort of enclosure do you keep them in? I guess they get a bigger one as they grow.

 

[DogAndCat36]

What sort of enclosure do you keep them in? I guess they get a bigger one as they grow.

I have them in these tiny plastic containers, when they get older I will move them to bigger ones.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Years ago I had found a fairly large mantis while out on a walk one day so I took it home and tossed it in my yard, which was postage stamp size (it was like 20'x20'). Guess it liked the yard well enough that it stayed put there, and I'd go out and find it in the afternoon and carry it around the yard and watch it eat.

Months later we sold the house and on the day we moved out, I saw the mantis out of the yard for the first time since I'd found it. It was sitting on the hose spigot in front of the house as we left.

 

[Mvan42]

Saw this one last year.. we have wild ones here.

 

[HollyBerrie]

I love mantids! How will you keep the female from eating the male after they mate? Or will you just let their nature take it's course?

 

[Sally PB]

We have lots of them here.

One interesting fact: they are the only insect that can look over its shoulder.