The Glitch guide to the praying mantis.
Oh well hello there internet person! So you're interested in a mantis as a pet? Or just curious as to what the heck they're all about?
here's some Q&A for stuff i'm asked all the time.
1) What the heck is a mantis?
The scientific definition is an insect from the suborder Mantodea, closely related to cockroaches, but looking more like heavily armed stick insects. Given the name mantis meaning 'prophet' in greek and praying due to how they hold their forearms, so they're 'praying prophets' or tiny little psychotic holy men. NOT 'preying', though yes, they're very good at that too.
My personal definition would be; Freeking awesome alien/insect hybrid cannibalistic chameleon assassins.
2) How easy are they to keep?
it depends on how stupid you are really?
Seriously, the beginners species are so easy to care for. The rule of thumb for a mantis house is twice the mandids length in width and three times for length. Bung some damn kitchen roll in the bottom to keep a bit of humidity in there for them and a stick long enough for the matis to climb to the top. Just increase the size of the cup/jar as the mantis grows. Temps of between 20-25 are perfectly fine for them too, though in the UK a heat mat is always nice to have in the winter just in case. Generally a vent on the top with mesh over it is preferable so the mantis has something to grip to as it sheds its skin. More on that later.
3) What do you feed them?
Most mantis are ambush predators, they blend into their surroundings perfectly, even mimicking the breeze brushing through the leaves, making them sway side to side in a spooky fashion. This also helps them to judge the distance to the prey. Some are very picky with their food and will only take flying insects, others prefer their prey to crawl. In general i feed mine on locusts of varying sizes. A mantis will happily tackle things bigger than themselves. (google mantis vs snake/hummingbird/jumbojet, you get the idea) but i try to keep it simple and feed them things half their size with the occasional cockroach for extra nutrition. There's still a bit of a battle raging over crickets as a food source. many mantis deaths have been caused by a diet of crickets, if it's bacteria in their gut, or something else, noone's too sure. Flushing the crickets system of nasties with a diet of fresh veg for a week can help, but i'm not going to risk my little assassins! Also live food ONLY, though they are partial to a bit of honey which you can hand feed them and there's reports of them eating pineapple etc. One of mine was found munching on some catfood.
4) Don't the females eat the males during sex?
Mantis ARE highly cannibalistic, that's no lie. BUT it's a partial myth that all males get eaten. The very unlucky ones do. basically if the female is hungry, the male (along with anything within reach of her raptoral claws) is seen as lunch. So having lunch climb onto your back is a pretty sweet deal.
In captivity, the females are always fed a lot of food for a week before introducing her to the male. Think of it as treating them both to a dinner date. The male should happily leap (often backwards) onto her back, start tapping on her thorax to relax her, then slowly turn around (keeping his head down at all times) then eventually they'll get jiggy. This can take anything from 1 hour to a whole night. There's reports of fully fed females being approached by the male who does a little coutship dance to placate her, though not all species do this and in the wild it's more of a jump on, do the deed, then jump off without becoming lunch.
5) How do they grow? Why do you put numbers by a letter L?
Like all insects, mantis grow by shedding their exoskeleton in one go, so think of it as trying to force your way out of a very tight, solid morph suit, using the back of your neck. The mantis will stop eating a few days before getting ready for the big day and will adopt a 'moulting posture' hopefully at a high spot in the viv with decent grip. Then they'll slowly start pushing themselves out of their old skin, revealing a very squishy new exoskeleton that needs time to harden, usually a day or so and they'll be ok. This is the most dangerous time of a nymphs life as there's the dangers of falling, getting a limb trapped, moulting too close to the ground and of course, becoming a nice easy lunch for any food you left in the viv for them, hence it being very important to remove all food if you notice they're not eating for a few days. Just give their viv a quick misting to keep the humidity up. IF a nymph falls, you can try and rescue it by holding the back legs so it's back hanging upside down and let it do its thing...which can take a while!
Mantis nymphs are classed by an L then a number, this we think came from germany the L meaning larvae, though the technical term would be instar. So a newborn nymph would be 1st instar or L1, usually they'll moult 6-7 times until they finally take an extra bit of time with their moult, do a crazy backflip and start pumping blood into their new wings which is beautiful to watch. Seriously, not creepy at all...if you're a fan of the film Alien.
6) WHAT THE JEBUS IS COMING OUT OF HER ASS?!?!
Congrats, your female is laying eggs! Mantis lay eggs surrounded by a sticky foam that eventually hardens to form an oothecae, or ooth for short. This again can look amazingly awesome, or really creepy. Personally, i find the image of an insect squirting green, fire retardant foam out of its bum an endearing image.
This case helps the eggs against extreme temp changes, predators etc. The most awesome thing about ooth is the fact that each mantis subspecies lays a different shaped ooth. some are tiny and long and thin, others actually do look like face hugger eggs. After a few weeks to a few months, the nymphs will send out a search party of one of two babies, who abseil down on tiny strands, then slowly break open their protective embryonic cases and happily wander off ready to grow. usually the rest of the ooth will hatch a few hours later, usually during dawn or dusk. Each species gives a different amount of nymphs, ranging from 20-200 and each female can lay anything from 4-10 ooths in her lifetime. Interesting to note that they'll often lay ooths, even if the female hasnt been mated. Though once she's gotten jiggy, then she'll store the sperm, so any future ooths will be fertile...which is great news for the males. Note that the ooth is the name of the eggs inside the protective coating, not the eggs themselves, the ooth is created outside the female.
7.) How do you tell the difference between the male and female nymphs?
YOU COUNT THEIR BUTT RINGS!
Seriously, you count the rings on their abdomen. usual rule of thumb for generic mantis is 7 segments for a male, 5 for a female. Or with some species it's counting how many notches their crown has. Or just wait until they're an adult and get a lovely surprise! Wohoo!
Males are usually nimble little guys with a nervous temperament. Built for speed and flying longer distances to not only find the sexy ladies, but also to escape the sexy ladies after doing the deed.
Females are a lot bigger, stockier and more aggressive, with much smaller wings, often they are useless for flying, but good for something else.
8) Wings....wut?
Yes, they have wings and often prettier than any butterfly! A mantis when startled will not strike out, but will first adopt a threat display lifting their camouflaged wing cases and raising their AWESOME COLOURED WINGS and hissing, often looking like big eyes to try and scare off predators. If that doesnt work, then they'll strike out, or try and fly off.
9) Dude it's totally looking right at me.
It possibly is. A mantids eye is actually compounded like a flies, made up of thousands of ommatidia. Often you'll see a tiny black dot, making it look like it's trying to stare you out, this is one of the mini pupils pointing in your direction, so yeah, they know you're there..unless you're over 20 metres away, which is pretty much as far as they can see apparently.
10) Are its ears in its knees like with grasshoppers?
Grasshoppers are dicks, no.
Mantis have a single ear, located under their thorax between their legs. This is basically to listen out for bats. Yes, this ear detects the echo location squeeks of bats, but they cant take in the true beauty of a symphony, but are saved the horror of Justin Bieber. If the flying mantis hears a bat closing in, it's take a sharp turn to one side, then corkscrew down to the ground.
11) What does their poop look like?
seen that ep of Futurama where they get a little alien that poops dark matter?
yeah, like that, only not as heavy.
12) Is a mantis a good pet choice for me?
I dont know. Do you like super awesome ninja assassin insects who will happily live in your house and catch all the bugs? Then heck yeah get some!
Squeamish about their eating habits? Possibly best to get a rabbit. Though, rabbits eat their own poop.
I'll get some pics up soon of my growing army.
here's some Q&A for stuff i'm asked all the time.
1) What the heck is a mantis?
The scientific definition is an insect from the suborder Mantodea, closely related to cockroaches, but looking more like heavily armed stick insects. Given the name mantis meaning 'prophet' in greek and praying due to how they hold their forearms, so they're 'praying prophets' or tiny little psychotic holy men. NOT 'preying', though yes, they're very good at that too.
My personal definition would be; Freeking awesome alien/insect hybrid cannibalistic chameleon assassins.
2) How easy are they to keep?
it depends on how stupid you are really?
Seriously, the beginners species are so easy to care for. The rule of thumb for a mantis house is twice the mandids length in width and three times for length. Bung some damn kitchen roll in the bottom to keep a bit of humidity in there for them and a stick long enough for the matis to climb to the top. Just increase the size of the cup/jar as the mantis grows. Temps of between 20-25 are perfectly fine for them too, though in the UK a heat mat is always nice to have in the winter just in case. Generally a vent on the top with mesh over it is preferable so the mantis has something to grip to as it sheds its skin. More on that later.
3) What do you feed them?
Most mantis are ambush predators, they blend into their surroundings perfectly, even mimicking the breeze brushing through the leaves, making them sway side to side in a spooky fashion. This also helps them to judge the distance to the prey. Some are very picky with their food and will only take flying insects, others prefer their prey to crawl. In general i feed mine on locusts of varying sizes. A mantis will happily tackle things bigger than themselves. (google mantis vs snake/hummingbird/jumbojet, you get the idea) but i try to keep it simple and feed them things half their size with the occasional cockroach for extra nutrition. There's still a bit of a battle raging over crickets as a food source. many mantis deaths have been caused by a diet of crickets, if it's bacteria in their gut, or something else, noone's too sure. Flushing the crickets system of nasties with a diet of fresh veg for a week can help, but i'm not going to risk my little assassins! Also live food ONLY, though they are partial to a bit of honey which you can hand feed them and there's reports of them eating pineapple etc. One of mine was found munching on some catfood.
4) Don't the females eat the males during sex?
Mantis ARE highly cannibalistic, that's no lie. BUT it's a partial myth that all males get eaten. The very unlucky ones do. basically if the female is hungry, the male (along with anything within reach of her raptoral claws) is seen as lunch. So having lunch climb onto your back is a pretty sweet deal.
In captivity, the females are always fed a lot of food for a week before introducing her to the male. Think of it as treating them both to a dinner date. The male should happily leap (often backwards) onto her back, start tapping on her thorax to relax her, then slowly turn around (keeping his head down at all times) then eventually they'll get jiggy. This can take anything from 1 hour to a whole night. There's reports of fully fed females being approached by the male who does a little coutship dance to placate her, though not all species do this and in the wild it's more of a jump on, do the deed, then jump off without becoming lunch.
5) How do they grow? Why do you put numbers by a letter L?
Like all insects, mantis grow by shedding their exoskeleton in one go, so think of it as trying to force your way out of a very tight, solid morph suit, using the back of your neck. The mantis will stop eating a few days before getting ready for the big day and will adopt a 'moulting posture' hopefully at a high spot in the viv with decent grip. Then they'll slowly start pushing themselves out of their old skin, revealing a very squishy new exoskeleton that needs time to harden, usually a day or so and they'll be ok. This is the most dangerous time of a nymphs life as there's the dangers of falling, getting a limb trapped, moulting too close to the ground and of course, becoming a nice easy lunch for any food you left in the viv for them, hence it being very important to remove all food if you notice they're not eating for a few days. Just give their viv a quick misting to keep the humidity up. IF a nymph falls, you can try and rescue it by holding the back legs so it's back hanging upside down and let it do its thing...which can take a while!
Mantis nymphs are classed by an L then a number, this we think came from germany the L meaning larvae, though the technical term would be instar. So a newborn nymph would be 1st instar or L1, usually they'll moult 6-7 times until they finally take an extra bit of time with their moult, do a crazy backflip and start pumping blood into their new wings which is beautiful to watch. Seriously, not creepy at all...if you're a fan of the film Alien.
6) WHAT THE JEBUS IS COMING OUT OF HER ASS?!?!
Congrats, your female is laying eggs! Mantis lay eggs surrounded by a sticky foam that eventually hardens to form an oothecae, or ooth for short. This again can look amazingly awesome, or really creepy. Personally, i find the image of an insect squirting green, fire retardant foam out of its bum an endearing image.
This case helps the eggs against extreme temp changes, predators etc. The most awesome thing about ooth is the fact that each mantis subspecies lays a different shaped ooth. some are tiny and long and thin, others actually do look like face hugger eggs. After a few weeks to a few months, the nymphs will send out a search party of one of two babies, who abseil down on tiny strands, then slowly break open their protective embryonic cases and happily wander off ready to grow. usually the rest of the ooth will hatch a few hours later, usually during dawn or dusk. Each species gives a different amount of nymphs, ranging from 20-200 and each female can lay anything from 4-10 ooths in her lifetime. Interesting to note that they'll often lay ooths, even if the female hasnt been mated. Though once she's gotten jiggy, then she'll store the sperm, so any future ooths will be fertile...which is great news for the males. Note that the ooth is the name of the eggs inside the protective coating, not the eggs themselves, the ooth is created outside the female.
7.) How do you tell the difference between the male and female nymphs?
YOU COUNT THEIR BUTT RINGS!
Seriously, you count the rings on their abdomen. usual rule of thumb for generic mantis is 7 segments for a male, 5 for a female. Or with some species it's counting how many notches their crown has. Or just wait until they're an adult and get a lovely surprise! Wohoo!
Males are usually nimble little guys with a nervous temperament. Built for speed and flying longer distances to not only find the sexy ladies, but also to escape the sexy ladies after doing the deed.
Females are a lot bigger, stockier and more aggressive, with much smaller wings, often they are useless for flying, but good for something else.
8) Wings....wut?
Yes, they have wings and often prettier than any butterfly! A mantis when startled will not strike out, but will first adopt a threat display lifting their camouflaged wing cases and raising their AWESOME COLOURED WINGS and hissing, often looking like big eyes to try and scare off predators. If that doesnt work, then they'll strike out, or try and fly off.
9) Dude it's totally looking right at me.
It possibly is. A mantids eye is actually compounded like a flies, made up of thousands of ommatidia. Often you'll see a tiny black dot, making it look like it's trying to stare you out, this is one of the mini pupils pointing in your direction, so yeah, they know you're there..unless you're over 20 metres away, which is pretty much as far as they can see apparently.
10) Are its ears in its knees like with grasshoppers?
Grasshoppers are dicks, no.
Mantis have a single ear, located under their thorax between their legs. This is basically to listen out for bats. Yes, this ear detects the echo location squeeks of bats, but they cant take in the true beauty of a symphony, but are saved the horror of Justin Bieber. If the flying mantis hears a bat closing in, it's take a sharp turn to one side, then corkscrew down to the ground.
11) What does their poop look like?
seen that ep of Futurama where they get a little alien that poops dark matter?
yeah, like that, only not as heavy.
12) Is a mantis a good pet choice for me?
I dont know. Do you like super awesome ninja assassin insects who will happily live in your house and catch all the bugs? Then heck yeah get some!
Squeamish about their eating habits? Possibly best to get a rabbit. Though, rabbits eat their own poop.
I'll get some pics up soon of my growing army.