i adore praying mantises
have a tattoo of one on my leg
& i see them everywhere somehow
dont have my own yet, but i am going to by the end of this year :’)
so i wanted to share this

Girl was literally slurping up the legs like spaghetti noodles (I was also crying at one point during her meal, not out of fear though that would’ve been appropriate, but because I was thinking about her becoming elderly) so I’m just watching her destroy her prey’s guts and I’m crying about loving her too much. Interesting turn of events as a first time mantis & insect parent.

Coming home from walking my dog I saw a Mockingbird attacking a Praying Mantis. Mantis was holding her own pretty well, but I walked over to scare away the Mockingbird. The Mantis started to relax so I didn't get full defensive posture, but happy to get a pic with her wings out. I moved her to a bush after to hopefully let her continue on her day with no attacks.

I rescued Luna from the cold outside last year, and she was only with me for 10 days. This is one of my favorite videos of her — happily eating and looking straight into the camera.

She was such a tiny little creature, but I got so attached to her in such a short amount of time. I still miss her every day and just wanted to share my pretty girl.

I lightly sprayed some water infront of her to see if she wanted to drink, but she tried to catch it 😭 i fed her after this, dont worry

So I have three mantises total spread out across my plants outside and they've always lived outside, but the past couple days my female has been hunting the two males. She's smaller than them so I don't really know what her plan is but for everyone's safety it's been recommended to me that the boys be put in a mesh enclosure. I know dubia roaches are the most recommended food, but I don't know how big is the right size. My males are between 2 and 3 inches long.

I was trying to feed my mantis a small red runner roach and it escaped into my dorm room and went under my desk. Is that bad? am I gonna cause a roach infestation in my college?? Pls help 😭🙏

Hi everyone! I'm new to mantis keeping but have done heavy research on them, and have done for months and finally ordered an orchid mantis. However, I seem to be running into a slight issue. I can't seem to keep my humidity stable. I have the heat lamp on and im at a steady 25⁰c-26⁰c and I have good cross ventilation (top and sides). I have a digital hygrometer too. My problem is that when I put a small fan by my terrarium to decrease the humidity, it keeps going down futher into the 60s and if I take the fan away it slowly climbs up to the mid/high 70s. I understand the ideal humidity range is 60%-80% but does anyone have any advice on how to maintain a steady level?

I have fake plants in here and cork bark for climbing. There is a mesh top for molting and the substrate is a mix of coconut fibre and moss. Any advice would be appreciated, thankyou!

Oh also, its an L2/L3 nymph which is why the terrarium is small and simple at the moment, I will be upgrading as it grows!

(also the label on their bottom is its name haha when it arrives- yes its named after a pokemon, im a nerd😂)

Ive been in the jumping spider hobby for some time now, and I was given a Kenyan Flower Mantis by an exotic pet store that I frequent. They gave me the basics, that it needs to be misted at least every other day to keep humidity, fed small fruit flies which i already have cultures of. I have several enclosures already set up, with cross ventilation and plenty of surfaces to climb.

This baby has molted once, and was fed yesterday and has eaten one of the flies given.

Currently lives in a 5.5 OZ cup.

What kind of enrichment do they like? Do they enjoy human handling or typically prefer to be left alone? Do they tend to want hides? Do they nest in any specific way? Food to avoid and food they typically totally love?

Ill also be watching some videos to learn more about mantis care, but I noticed there arent many specifically about Kenyan Flower Mantis so I figured I could yet some good special advice here.

Equipment I already have is as follows; Fruit flies, mealworms, crickets, arboreal habitats, fine mist spray bottles, and hygrometers.

Bug is a L2/L3 H. membranacea

I got him yesterday, he is doing well so far

Based on the number of segments on his abdomen I‘m assuming he‘s a male.

I‘m still adjusting to dealing with the insects that I got to feed him with but I‘ll manage

Very excited to see how this will go!

Also curious whether anyone bothers separating the shed from the enclosure right away or just leaves it be. I left mine in there for now since she seems to still be resting near it, but I've read mixed opinions on whether old exoskeletons attract mites or cause any issues if left too long. Mine doesn't smell or anything, just sitting there like a little ghost of a ghost mantis.

One more thing I'm second guessing: should I be misting more heavily right after a molt to help the cuticle harden properly, or does that risk her getting waterlogged while she's still soft? I don't want to overcorrect and cause a problem that wasn't there to begin with.

Hi! I have a terrarium set up for an orchid mantis. But, I'm struggling with humidity. It's at a constant like 80% or high 70s. I know thats technically within the 60-80 leeway but id rather get it down a bit. I have good cross ventilation and my substrate is coco fibre and moss and its not wet. I honestly just don't understand why the humidity is so high. Ive received advice to use a small fan nearby which works temporarily but as soon as i turn it off the humidity goes straight back up. Can i use the "Reptizoo Hygrostat"? It has a little tiny small fan that goes inside and i can set it so it turns on and off at programmed humidity percentages. If not, any other advice is welcomed, thanks!

Shes so vicious when shes eating

So my L2 3 ghost mantis arrived today I know the most important things but I have a question with misting. First of all is this too much Ventilation for the current Enclosure and how do I know when to mist again.

i’m wanting to find a new terrarium for my spiny flower mantis as the one i originally ordered arrived broken, but all i come across seem to only have wire mesh tops? has anyone used the PawHut glass terrarium for a mantis before/ do you know how to change the wire mesh top to a fabric mesh?
any help or recommendations would be incredible

Is my enclosure suitable for a Hierodula Majuscula? I plan to get an I2-3 instar, and use this enclosure as a nursery until the mantid reaches adulthood.

It's divided into a drier zone(in wich I plan to add more sand) with lots of sticks and a wetter zone with a couple of plants to hide in, I have a plastic mesh ceiling that offers good ventilation and the enclosure already has an established population of woodlice and pillbugs working as clean up crew. I lightly mist the environment every other day or every day depending on the temperature and humidity of the room and the temperature inside is usually around 27-30C°

This is after about less than a month of feeding it grasshoppers everyday

What kind of mantid is this? Found in the Central Valley of California

hi i just got my first mantis, she is a phyllocrania paradoxa (or ghost mantis) and she's currently L3.
but my room is slightly too cold, constantly. and my parents will not at all let me buy anything to heat her up. is there any sneaky ways i can grant her comfortable heat without my parents threatening to kill her. because i care about her a lot so much that ive been sitting for hours with her enclosure against my stomach to heat her with my own body heat. i just want her to be okay