I love spotting a wild mantid, Tenodera or no. Sinensis are awesome if you ask me. I dont care if theyre common.
Caught a big female Tenodera sinensis!
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Mantis Man13
Well-known member
See, this is what I am talking about why are the wild mantises ALWAYS bigger than my captive mantises? My Chinese adult is 3 inches, while wild Chinese mantises I find are like Goliath and grow to be 4 inches. Does anyone have the answer?
I once researched why insects were bigger back in the carboniferous period, the answer was because, the oxygen was purer, meaning they could get bigger, because there was enough oxygen to sustain their large bodies. So I think that, being held indoors, and in a container, means there's less oxygen, than there is outside in the wild. So the wild ones can grow bigger. OR it could just be because, their containers are too small, so they don't grow as big, because there's not enough room. Like with a plant, they will be smaller in captivity because they're not out in the open.
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Mantis Man13
Well-known member
But my mantis is in a ten gallon tank with a wire screen top for maximum air.
Maybe its not so much based on space then in that case.
But outside there is still more oxygen. Indoors you dont get as much. Even with the windows open its just not equivalent. We dont have as many plants, plus we arent out in the open
Mantis Man13
Well-known member
Man... is there anyway possible to make mine bigger then? Iv'e heard heat, light and humidity can make mantises grow bigger. Also, a professor told me about barometric pressure tanks that make more oxygen inside the tank so the mantis will be able to grow like dinosaur times, when there was more oxygen. The thing is, I can't find them anywhere for sale... 
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Mantis Man13
Well-known member
Also, to prove my point, you have a collection of captive raised Chinese female mantises, right? Are any of them bigger then Goliath?
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Im not sure maybe if you added live plants to the terrarium?Man... is there anyway possible to make mine bigger then? Iv'e heard heat, light and humidity can make mantises grow bigger. Also, a professor told me about barometric pressure tanks that make more oxygen inside the tank so the mantis will be able to grow like dinosaur times, when there was more oxygen. The thing is, I can't find them anywhere for sale...
I agree with you that wild mantids are larger than captivated, i truly think its because theres more oxygen outside than inside, theyre surrounded by plants and open space out there.
Mantis Man13
Well-known member
But wouldn't it be hard to find my mantis in a terrarium with plants?
happy1892
Well-known member
You are probably not caring for them perfectly. My T. sinensis grow to similar size to wild caught mantids and often larger. I do not feed them as much as they can eat before they molt, and they still grow large. I keep them in terrariums and large net cages.
They do live in Virginia and I would guess most of Virginia. A guy in the mountains of western part of Virginia says that S. carolina is very common. And also his S. carolina are aggressive. Maybe different personality in the mountains than in the piedmont haha (S. carolina in my area are never as aggressive as the ones my friend has). I doubt S. carolina are in Massachusetts. If S. carolina does live in Mass (I read something about S. carolina spreading farther north into NY state) it is probably the northern limit they are found and even if only at the southern tip of Mass.
MantidLord
Well-known member
I understand that T. sinensis may have become naturalized here. But you don't know what effects they've had (or have...?) on the ecosystem as well as other species of mantids. I'd find it pretty hard to believe that the populations of say, S. carolina, remained unaffected by the addition of T. sinensis to different parts. I'm not saying go out and kill all T. sinensis, there are much worse vermin out there. But if someone were to mass collect T. sinensis (or M. religiosa, I. oratoria, etc), I wouldn't be in uproar. Anytime you have such a large, generalist predator such as T. sinensis become established in an area, it's going to alter the composition of the ecosystem.
Mantis Man13
Well-known member
Yeah, that is true. They are killing the smaller native mantises
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happy1892
Well-known member
I was told last night by Ralphy's Mantids that he has a friend in Maine and the friend finds adult male Stagmomantis carolina flying around trees. Ralphy's Mantids showed me a picture of one of his Stagmomantis carolina he got from his friend in Maine who caught them in Maine.
Sticky
Well-known member
Wow! I thought they couldn't live up here in maine. Too cold.
Mantis Man13
Well-known member
Mantises live in canada, like Latureia Minor
mantisman 230
Well-known member
Yes Carolinas are in our state, I find heaps of adult every fall, spotted over 40 adults last year, had 20 wild caught females in my breeding program
Mantis Man13
Well-known member
Wow. That's a lot of wild mantises. I can only find 3 a year.
