# Mantids that impress your non-mantis rearing friends the most...



## Kruszakus (Aug 2, 2009)

I would like to know which mantis species your friends/family members find to be the most impressive ones? I know it ain't that great a topic, but I'm just curious.


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## Katnapper (Aug 2, 2009)

My husband "likes" (seemed impressed) the female _D. lobata_.


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## d17oug18 (Aug 2, 2009)

everyone love my Asian Flower Mantis, Fewer seem to like the orchids though... wierd lol


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## Kruszakus (Aug 2, 2009)

My sister, my mother and my ex-girlfriend love Phyllocrania - no wonder why.

Please - use latin names, I don't get all that Asian Flower rubbish type thing.


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## d17oug18 (Aug 2, 2009)

Kruszakus said:


> My sister, my mother and my ex-girlfriend love Phyllocrania - no wonder why.Please - use latin names, I don't get all that Asian Flower rubbish type thing.


I only use that because the species i have is unknown, i guess the genus is creobroter?


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## Emile.Wilson (Aug 2, 2009)

My mother and uncle likes Pseudocreobotra and Hymenopus. My mom is amazed everytime she sees the hierodula because they just keep growing  .


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## Rick (Aug 2, 2009)

Wife likes orchids.


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## PhilinYuma (Aug 2, 2009)

Most of the people who have really looked at my mantids in recent months have been some of my little girls:

Laura (great niece, 21yrs) thought that she didn't like "bugs" but got interested in some some second instar budwings (Parasphendale agrionina) during the week that she spent with me. Who wouldn't?

Sunny ("granddaughter" and LOML*, 15 yrs) is the only person that I would let care for my critters, and she likes the way that Ghosts (Phyllocrania paradoxa) dance.

Lolly (summer visitor from oz 17yrs) liked how fierce the Arizona bordered mantises (Stagmomantis limbata) are.

Kyra (friend's daughter 16 yrs) thinks that all mantids "are an example of the miracle of God's creation," but thinks that God's best effort was ghosts.

Robyn ( friend, 19yrs) says "Eek" when she sees a mantis, because she thinks that that is the girly thing to do.

Doug: you are perfectly correct in using an English (common) name for your mantids. Proponents of binomials claim that they are stable and common names are not, but the opposite is true. Ladybugs were and will be lady bugs, long before the binomial convention was invented and long after the genus has been "revised."

LOML = Love of My Life.


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## planetq (Aug 2, 2009)

My friends are definitely mostly charmed by Hymenopuses. They don't even givemy other mantises a second glance after they look at the Hymenopuses. Haha.

They don't want to hold the other mantises, but they want to hold the hymenopuses because they are the most adorable ones. (and by hold, I mean let them crawl on their hands)

I have some friends that like Japanese Fictional Robots and stuff, and they always get a kick out of Idolomantises.

Although, when I show them pictures of Toxodera sp. on the internet everyone is awestruck and amazed in unison.

Minkyu


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## -MK- (Aug 2, 2009)

I only have Chinese (T. sinensis) but everyone who sees them is impressed, especially if they get to see one catching prey. Also, the novelty value of them turning their heads to look straight at someone never gets old.


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## Emile.Wilson (Aug 2, 2009)

-MK- said:


> I only have Chinese (T. sinensis) but everyone who sees them is impressed, especially if they get to see one catching prey. Also, the novelty value of them turning their heads to look straight at someone never gets old.


Dramatic Mantis


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## superfreak (Aug 3, 2009)

LOL cant believe that was my first thought too. the internetz was like a mother to me :lol: 

people seem to be impressed by the size and ferocity of my Hierodula (not to mention the awesome coloration on our aussie ones!  )


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## ismart (Aug 3, 2009)

My girl really likes _Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii_. She calls them the''tattooed mantis''

My sister likes _Hymenopus coronatus_.


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## Christian (Aug 3, 2009)

In my experience, most are impressed by _Idolomantis_, _Hymenopus_ and the very large and bulky ones.

PS: Binomials aren't to be used because they're stable, but because they're more exact!


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## revmdn (Aug 3, 2009)

Pseudocrebotra wahlbergii, seems to be a crowd pleaser.


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## Katnapper (Aug 3, 2009)

My 6 year old niece was afraid to touch or hold any of my mantids... until she saw the cute little adult female _Pseudoharpax virescens_. She fell in love. :wub: 

I'm not sure if this is an instance of being "impressed" per se.... but her sister, my 13 year old niece, gave quite a reaction when she pulled out a baggie containing a couple of frozen adult female _Rhombodera sp._ while rummaging in my freezer for waffles for breakfast. I wasn't there at the time; but I was told her vocalizations were impressive at least! :lol:


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## PhilinYuma (Aug 3, 2009)

[quote name='Christian' date='Aug 3 2009, 04:46 AM' post='102018'

PS: Binomials aren't to be used because they're stable, but because they're more exact!

I can't argue with that, Christian, though I suspect that you and I will always differ on this subject.  

One argument often used in the U.S, though, is that the use of a binomial enables two people in different parts of the country, say, to readily identify the taxon, whereas if they use different, regional, common names, there might be confusion. A popular example is the mountain lion that is variously called puma, catamount, panther, couger, painter, etc. The scientific name will eliminate that confusion, it is argued. But the scientific literature on this beast currently gives it two names on the genus level, Puma concolor and Felis concolor (I think that the latter is what you would call the "junior" synonym). This means that to keep up on current research (and this is a very important ecological species in this area, as Fish and Game managers are trying to artificially control the ratio of cougars to bighorn sheep by selecively killing the former), you have to use two different names, regardless of what is "exact."


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## Christian (Aug 3, 2009)

In the few mammal species on the planet it may work somewhat better, but in speciose genera as found in insects any use of vernacular names is really ridiculous. But hey, everyone can use what he wants, but please don't wonder if you get no subsequent generation.


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## Morpheus uk (Aug 3, 2009)

Everybody loves the orchids


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## beckyl92 (Aug 3, 2009)

my boyfriends loves the Gongylus Gongyloides, Deroplatys Dessicata and Phyllocrania Paradoxa  

i even gave him a few.

pretty much everyone in my family can't stand them. thats why they're in the shed  (with heating of course).


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## PhilinYuma (Aug 3, 2009)

BeckyL said:


> my boyfriends loves the Gongylus Gongyloides, Deroplatys Dessicata and Phyllocrania Paradoxa  i even gave him a few.
> 
> pretty much everyone in my family can't stand them. thats why they're in the shed  (with heating of course).


Becky, I remember seeing a pic of you with one of your boyfriends, but not the others. May I ask how many you have? Perhaps one for each of the species that you mention?


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## dino2 (Aug 3, 2009)

.. all my friends are only impressed by big mantids, first thing they say is... do you have any big ones? i guess they dont care for looks ...


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## yen_saw (Aug 6, 2009)

My wife likes Orchid mantis and my son prefers Florida bark mantis. Based on my experience, ladies love orchid mantis while boys like big size and colorful mantis.


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## Emile.Wilson (Aug 6, 2009)

superfreak said:


> LOL cant believe that was my first thought too. the internetz was like a mother to me :lol:


The internet is my home away from home..... wait, pretty much my home


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## Kruszakus (Aug 10, 2009)

yen_saw said:


> My wife likes Orchid mantis and my son prefers Florida bark mantis. Based on my experience, ladies love orchid mantis while boys like big size and colorful mantis.


You never told me you had a wife!


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## [email protected] (Aug 10, 2009)

[SIZE=14pt]My wife loves Hymenopus Coronatus and Phyllocrania Paradoxa, now my daughter likes my female Deroplatys Desiccata[/SIZE]


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## charleyandbecky (Aug 11, 2009)

I think many people don't realize how many different kinds of mantids there are. Until I became interested in them myself, I only ever knew about the "brown ones and the green ones."  

I think simply having praying mantids in the house (we only have Carolinas and Chinese right now) just blows some people away. I have most of my mantids in my office, but one was out in the den on the coffee table a few nights ago when a neighbor stopped by. She was just talking away about something and suddenly she said, "Oh my GOD!!! There's a PRAYING MANTIS on your COFFEE TABLE!" (Of course he was in his enclosure). I took her back to the office and showed her all my mantids, and she was just totally fascinated. Now, whenever she sees me outside, she says, "Are you looking for another mantis?" or "Hunting food for your mantids?" I honestly don't think she ever realized people kept mantids in the house. LOL

Rebecca


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## Emile.Wilson (Aug 11, 2009)

yen_saw said:


> My wife likes Orchid mantis and my son prefers Florida bark mantis. Based on my experience, ladies love orchid mantis while boys like big size and colorful mantis.





Kruszakus said:


> You never told me you had a wife!


I think Yen just broke Kruszakus's heart


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## Kruszakus (Aug 11, 2009)

Did I tell you guys, that I got laid after inviting a girl over to show her my mantids?


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## Christian (Aug 11, 2009)

Mantids are no kitties or Guinea pigs, man!


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## Emile.Wilson (Aug 11, 2009)

Kruszakus said:


> Did I tell you guys, that I got laid after inviting a girl over to show her my mantids?


Lol, the power of the mantis


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## Kruszakus (Aug 12, 2009)

Christian said:


> Mantids are no kitties or Guinea pigs, man!


What do you mean? That they tell, that you are into some hard-core stuff?


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## leviatan (Aug 12, 2009)

My Girlfriend love Gongylus gongylodes, and my younger sister like Creobroter and Tenodera and Ephestiasula.

Btw my Girlfriend loves to feed my Eublefar gecko !  My gecko don't want to eat when I feed him...


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## ABbuggin (Aug 12, 2009)

Because I work at a musuem, I get a chance to constatly show my mantids to the public.

I have found the public favorites to be:

Sibylla, pretiosa

Gongylus, gongylodes

Deroplatys, desiccata

Deroplatys, lobata

Hymenopus, coronatus

Pseudovates, arizonae

Phyllocrania, paradoxa

Brunneria, borealis


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## Katnapper (Aug 12, 2009)

charleyandbecky said:


> I think many people don't realize how many different kinds of mantids there are. Until I became interested in them myself, I only ever knew about the "brown ones and the green ones."  I think simply having praying mantids in the house (we only have Carolinas and Chinese right now) just blows some people away. I have most of my mantids in my office, but one was out in the den on the coffee table a few nights ago when a neighbor stopped by. She was just talking away about something and suddenly she said, "Oh my GOD!!! There's a PRAYING MANTIS on your COFFEE TABLE!" (Of course he was in his enclosure). I took her back to the office and showed her all my mantids, and she was just totally fascinated. Now, whenever she sees me outside, she says, "Are you looking for another mantis?" or "Hunting food for your mantids?" I honestly don't think she ever realized people kept mantids in the house. LOL
> 
> Rebecca


I get the same kind of reaction when people find out I keep mantids at home. And you should see the reactions of the ones I've taken into the bug room. It's like they've stepped into another world, and are completely amazed and caught off guard. The bug room seems to make quite an impression on them, lol.



Emile said:


> I think Yen just broke Kruszakus's heart


 :lol:  



Kruszakus said:


> Did I tell you guys, that I got laid after inviting a girl over to show her my mantids?


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## Schloaty (Aug 13, 2009)

My wife doesn't like any of them. She doesn't like any living things except horses and cats. Drives me batty.

And she rules the roost....so they have to be kept out of her way.

But both my daughters love all the mantids. My older one (Miranda) is constantly asking to hold them. Unfortunately, I only have two adults right now....and one of them (Lobata) is rather grumpy and will bite. The other (ghost) I'm just not willing to risk, because it's so darn cool.



> Did I tell you guys, that I got laid after inviting a girl over to show her my mantids?


Lucky she didn't try and bite your head off.....

Please forgive THAT double entendre. I can't resist a pun.


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## Kruszakus (Aug 13, 2009)

Schloaty said:


> Lucky she didn't try and bite your head off.....


She did bite my nippies though.


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## Christian (Aug 13, 2009)

C'mon mate, I don't want to know this stuff! :lol:


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## Emile.Wilson (Aug 13, 2009)

Kruszakus said:


> She did bite my nippies though.


HAHAHA


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## Kruszakus (Aug 13, 2009)

Christian said:


> C'mon mate, I don't want to know this stuff! :lol:


Damn right you don't - it hurt like a rabid lobster thrown down your pants.


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## jarek (Aug 13, 2009)

damn!! What a offtop!


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## Kruszakus (Aug 13, 2009)

jarek said:


> damn!! What a offtop!


Yeah, her top was off too.


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## Christian (Aug 13, 2009)




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## Emile.Wilson (Aug 13, 2009)

Christian said:


>


My sentiments exactly


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