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Mantis eggs

Summers coming and that means natural pest control lady bugs and praying mantids. I've got 5 mantid egg cases on the way for my deck and other garden areas outside but I plan to put a couple nymphs in my terrariums maybe help expel the fruitfly epidemic without chemicals.

I've put them outside before but rarely seen them so this year I'll hatch them indoors and put them outside after they open.

Anyone else doing mantids this year?
 
Im not this year but last year i put them all over the place in my backyard and kept one nymph which is still alive today, old though, they make good pets.
 
Do they live up in ohio? Do you just get eggs outside?

Cheers
 
I always just get mine off ebay every spring. This year one Bio company 10,000 available for a buck each plus $5 shipping for as many as you want.

They will naturalize to your area if the summers are long enough for them to become mature adults. Mine must not be able to mature fast enough before winter as I never find any egg cases hanging in the landscaping around my apartments. You can hatch them inside in a terrarium when it's cold out but you gotta have fruitflies or aphids for the tiny mantis babies to attack or they'll eat each other as they get hungry until only the largest couple remain. Later small and then large crickets, moths, etc. can be fed to them.
 
I might consider this. What are other things you can feed the babies? Can you use a bug cage that you find tarantulas in at pet stores? Hrmm...
 
I "planted" some mantis egg cases in my prairie 4 years ago, and while I never see them, it never fails that I see egg cases every year. So, they must be maturing and gettin their swerve on. They're really cool bugs.
 
I may just not see them as they probably migrate away from the rather open areas I put them and into the (remains) of the woods out behind the condos.

You can feed the babies anything as long as it's small, springtails and fruitfies, gnats, etc. I have read that Ants can fight back and I guess are not a good choice when the babies are very small. Mantids can kill anything their own size (the female if hungry, will often begin to eat her mate while he's doing the deed). But when they are first emerge (a full mantis but ant sized and no wings) their food must be the same size or smaller than them and moving (live). When they're older you can feed them live crickets with tongs and begin to hold them as pets but be careful if they suddenly lash out at you. They can't do much but make a scratch and they are not poisonous. but they are fragile (like a turantula) and can have their legs broken if you drop them.  If you hatch the eggs outside you won't have to figure out baby mantid food, just have to find them when they've hatched and gotten to 1" in size. A 10 gallon terrarium stood on end with a plant and few sticks with a screen front works good for 1 mantid the larger mantid will always eat the smaller as soon as it's stocmach is the slightest bit empty. Any container works but it's only humane to give them as much room as you can. I'm just going to unleash a few nymphs in the chambers and see where we end up from there. Hopefully the sole survivors in the 4 terrariums will be of oposite sexes and I can get them to make eggs in the chambers. The rest of my unholy brood will be set free to pillage the neighborhood bug populace. I just wanna actually get to see them hatch this year!  I'll post emergence photos too if I'm home the day/night they do it.
 
Got married and the wife really hates them so I guess this year I won't have any. When we decide to buy a house I will release some and maybe keep some in captivity if I have garage to put a terrarium in.
 
  • #10
Actually, they're hyper territorial, so if you put them on your yew, that's exactly where they'll stay for the rest of their lives. So it was told to me.
 
  • #11
Ive never seen one... nor have i ever seen a stick insect. I understand 2 stick insects feed on red oak so if i plant that then prehaps i will see some


BUT i DO have ambush bugs galore and they have the same way of catching their prey. And the odd crab spider. I LOVE crab spiders! if obly they wouldnt eat mu vavorite green metalic bees
 
  • #12
I was younger and living in Virgina at the time, I was playing out side at school, and a Praying Mantis Fell on my head and I Basicaly Put my HAnds on my sholder (Kind of like praying) and had my head resting on my Hands, and Stood there still till a teacher came and got me, lol Its funny cause I was Scared! of course i was like little like 8-9 I think...

Cheers
 
  • #13
This has led me to Other insects that would be neat, Giant Millipides? Assasin bugs? How about growing some Rodidula and putting a bunch of assasin bugs im w/ it?

Sounds neat to me..

Cheers
 
  • #14
nepenthes_ak,
i have seen praying mantis's up here in akron, so they should be able to survive in your area. i've seen egg cases for sale locally at larger garden stores. try looking there if you're interested, or buy them on the web.

tech...
 
  • #15
Micro Climates could play an affect Ill definetaly Keep my eye out though!

Cheers
 
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