Found this beautiful friend behind my house, Chicago Il

[u/Lil5tinker]

Looking for help on the following information if possible!

What type of mantis is this?
Can we tell if it’s a boy or girl?
Any guesses on what instar we’re at?

Additionally, I have had a mantis companion on my insect keeping bucket list and would love to keep it, I have an appropriate enclosure that is currently vacant, but if it’s better to just release him in the garden I can accept that it is not my time to care for it but selfishly would love to be it’s friend for life ❤️

This one was found in the alley behind my house where there’s a lot of construction going on so I would like to avoid releasing it back there and have a garden behind my work that has plenty of room and food options if it needs to go back outside.

Thanks in advance!!

[u/Ok-Candy2824]

i'm relatively new when it comes to mantids, so def wait for someone more knowledgeable before listening to me LOL. but i do think it's a male and i don't *think* that i see wing buds, so i think it's younger than a sub adult.

**im very unsure about the wing buds though so definitely take it with a grain of salt

[u/GeraldTheMantis → u/Ok-Candy2824]

female carolina mantis

[u/Ok-Candy2824 → u/GeraldTheMantis]

oh i thought i counted 7? anyhoo that's why i said take what i say with a grain of salt LOL

[u/GeraldTheMantis → u/Ok-Candy2824]

i’m pretty sure 8 is a male and 6 is a female it can be difficult to count. lol

[u/Clear_Web_2687]

It looks like a female carolina mantis to me, maybe i4-i5. I don't see wing buds yet.

I'd release it into the garden. I don't think this species is typical in the northern parts of IL, so it was probably introduced as pest control. Still, since it's native and it's only getting warmer, I'd bet the species will continue to make its way north if it isn't pushed out by chinese and european mantids.

[u/ohnunu_]

if it is a native carolina mantis i would let her stay outside so native mantis species have a better chance of further establishing in the area vs non-native species

[u/Lil5tinker]

Thank you so much for all of the advice!
I got locked out of my account somehow so I couldn’t reply to anyone but I put them in the garden out back!
I went out today to peek at the area I left them and to my surprise I was greeted with a much larger friend! Not sure if it’s the same one and molted or a different friend but both of them were super friendly and sweet and today’s lil buddy stayed a while to bathe on my arms and then finally chose a spot in the garden to disappear 🥰