# Bites



## sueb4653 (Jul 26, 2012)

Ok I'm curious will or will not a mantis bite I've heard discussion on both sides, opinions please


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## patrickfraser (Jul 26, 2012)

They can bite and may bite. Whether or not is up to the mantis. :lol:


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## gripen (Jul 26, 2012)

They can and will. Some sp. more than others. Some big sp. really hurt!


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## melano (Jul 26, 2012)

I'm not so sure ?!!! I think we need some volonteers (Sue for example)... let begin with a kind species...Adult female Clinia humeralis for example... I promiss I'll make a test with odontomantis (new born)

Please to film it for scientist interest !!!


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## gripen (Jul 26, 2012)

melano said:


> I'm not so sure ?!!! I think we need some volonteers (Sue for example)... let begin with a kind species...Adult female Clinia humeralis for example... I promiss I'll make a test with odontomantis (new born)
> 
> Please to film it for scientist interest !!!


Lol


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## sueb4653 (Jul 26, 2012)

ME I dont think I big chicken cluck cccccccccccccluck cluck cluck :helpsmilie:


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## sueb4653 (Jul 26, 2012)

ok who has been bitten?


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## gripen (Jul 26, 2012)

Meeeeeeeeeeee!


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## sueb4653 (Jul 26, 2012)

did it hurt? leave a hole etc etc

do they go voluntarily let go or did you have to force it loose


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## angelofdeathzz (Jul 26, 2012)

Only been bit once, by a large Chinese adult female, she grabbed my finger with both raptors clamped down and took a quick bite, didn't hurt so bad as it just scared/startled the ba-jeebers out of me for a quick second, but I did manage to not fling her across the room.


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## melano (Jul 26, 2012)

me too lol... Cilnia bite  

that was the first time I feel reel pain

usually I feel funny when mantid try to eat me... but for sure they can eat a few if you leave them times... lol


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## sueb4653 (Jul 26, 2012)

Thats what I'm afraid of the knee jerk reaction


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## angelofdeathzz (Jul 26, 2012)

If it should happen to you just touch their claws with the free hand and it should let go. Yeah, my first gut feeling was to yank my hand back in a flinging motion but I didn't, just reached in with the other hand and swore at her a bit.


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## patrickfraser (Jul 26, 2012)

I have been guilty of the flinging action. Who says a fat gravid female can't fly? :lol:


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## bobericc (Jul 26, 2012)

Lol

Been bit by a blue flash, left a little pink dot, felt closer to a burn, no blood though

Been nibbled on by a budwing on numerous occasions. usually mantis will crouch down and nibble on you in search of water, in this case just spray em again, right between the raptors lol.


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## MantidLord (Jul 26, 2012)

I had a mantis start to "drink" on me which quickly turned into it biting me. Male adult European. Didn't hurt much but it was startling. Which is why I only let little L1s and L2s drink on my hand from now on.


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## twolfe (Jul 26, 2012)

I've been pinched a few times but only bitten one time. But I don't handle the big gals (Rhombodera) very often. The mantis that bit me was a female wahlbergii. It was towards the end of her life. I was trying to help her. We were buds before that, but her personality changed in the end. It hurt for a few seconds and there was a small trickle of blood.


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## Sneaky123 (Jul 26, 2012)

I used to get my adult female Chinese to claw me. It would leave those little white scratch marks. A skittish just-molted male limbata clawed me and held on for a brief second. I've had an unknown start actually eating my finger, but she was really hungry/thirsty. And those are the major events of my bite log


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## Krissim Klaw (Jul 26, 2012)

No ouchy bites but I have gotten a few prickly pricks from claws with my older mantises. When they get up their in age and have a harder time getting around, especially the fat females, they start using their claws like ice picks to help pull themselves up. :wheelchair:


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## sueb4653 (Jul 27, 2012)

LOL LOOKS LIKE LOTS TO LOOK FORWARD TOO


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## Emckenzie24 (Jul 28, 2012)

Eeps! Let's hope this is a rare occasion...


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## Ddraig goch (Jul 30, 2012)

So far I haven't exactly been bitten, more chewed on many occasions by my Ziggy the Omomantis zebrata. No longer with us :angel: but I have 4 nymphs, growing up nicely, I wonder if they will be the same


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## sueb4653 (Aug 1, 2012)

I' ve noticed my griffin and the tuamantis are the ones that like to nibble


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## Crazy4mantis (Aug 2, 2012)

once a mantis was eating banana off my finger and it chewed through the banana and nibbled on my juice-covered hand. :lol: but it just tickled, so it wasn't a bite.


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## Mime454 (Aug 2, 2012)

I've been bitten by a Chinese. The spines in the arms when they clasp to bite is worse than the bite itself.


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## nebrakacinese (Aug 3, 2012)

The first time I caught a wild Chinese,an adult female,I got the raptor and biting treatment,just startled me at first,used to it now


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## angelofdeathzz (Aug 3, 2012)

If it get's past the knuckle you have a problem... :lol:


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## sueb4653 (Aug 3, 2012)

arr blowing on them makes them not want to nibble hehe


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## jrh3 (Aug 4, 2012)

never been bitten.


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## OctoberRainne (Aug 4, 2012)

Most captive mantids that are handled early on or a regular basis don't bite,however if you bring in a wild one,or get one that has not been handled much they may try and get a bite in. If you lightly press/tap the middle of the face area though,they tend to back off,unless it is really determined lol but I don't see this being much of a problem with the majority of species. I do know wild chinese and the wide-arms are more inclined to be a little nasty like that though. Other than that all of mine have been abnormally tame,I think its because they get out and touched soo much and see people everyday,really think that helps,unless its just an agressive mantis.


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## oliholt (Aug 5, 2012)

my male ghost mantis has never drank from my hand or bitten me, but he really enjoys running as fast as he can up my hands


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## Mvalenz (Aug 5, 2012)

I've never been bit, but my niece was bitten by one of my H. Majusculas when it was a nymph. She said it tickled.


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## derryjellybies (Aug 30, 2012)

My rhombodera stalli bit me yesterday (which is why I ran a search for "biting" in the forum). It was shocking. I have picked up hundreds of mantids in the wild and have never been bit before!


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## MandellaMandy123 (Aug 30, 2012)

Mime454 said:


> I've been bitten by a Chinese. The spines in the arms when they clasp to bite is worse than the bite itself.


Very true. Those spines are terrible. Yesterday my female Cliona got mad at me, so she grabbed my finger (hard) and flared her jaws, but she didn't bite. I guess that's what I get for trying to grab her by the throrax...


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## brancsikia339 (Aug 30, 2012)

They will bite. And i'm guilty of flinging once or twice  But some, like blue flashes, budwings, majusculas and chinese will make you bleed- and quickly! Gravid female budwings and old blueflashes hurt the most.


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## brancsikia339 (Aug 30, 2012)

Krissim Klaw said:


> No ouchy bites but I have gotten a few prickly pricks from claws with my older mantises. When they get up their in age and have a harder time getting around, especially the fat females, they start using their claws like ice picks to help pull themselves up. :wheelchair:


My female budwing and blue flash did that. They were old and gravid, and the ice picks hurt!!!


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## Saebjorn9 (Aug 30, 2012)

in 6th grade I caught an adult chinese female from our school sunflower patch. Didn't know much about them at the time, but when she was on my hand she leaned forward, clasped my skin and went to down, she drew a decent amount of blood, hurt like heck. They're stronger than you think. The other times I've been bitten since though have never really drawn blood. The hardest part is just avoiding the knee-jerk reaction over anything. I'd rather lose a little blood than fling my mantis across the room.


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## derryjellybies (Aug 30, 2012)

Saebjorn9 said:


> in 6th grade I caught an adult chinese female from our school sunflower patch. Didn't know much about them at the time, but when she was on my hand she leaned forward, clasped my skin and went to down, she drew a decent amount of blood, hurt like heck. They're stronger than you think. The other times I've been bitten since though have never really drawn blood. The hardest part is just avoiding the knee-jerk reaction over anything. I'd rather lose a little blood than fling my mantis across the room.


That's what my mantid did! She was just resting on my hand and for no apparent reason leaned forward and bit me! I can understand them feeling threatened and biting when being picked up, or biting a finger thinking it's some kind of prey, but it was out of nowhere.


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## Crazy4mantis (Aug 30, 2012)

I was trying to pick up a wild limbata and it caught my finger and looked like it was trying to decide if it was food or not. :lol:


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## Domanating (Aug 31, 2012)

Weird. Never got seriously bitten by a mantis, maybe because i only keep Europeans? They do prefer to run away or in rare occasions they strike my fingers, but it's so lightning fast that i barely feel the strike. The only time they strike badly is when i grab them. Some seem to be more tolerant to being grabbed than others though.


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## Krissim Klaw (Aug 31, 2012)

derryjellybies said:


> That's what my mantid did! She was just resting on my hand and for no apparent reason leaned forward and bit me! I can understand them feeling threatened and biting when being picked up, or biting a finger thinking it's some kind of prey, but it was out of nowhere.


She sensed something on your hand. It could have been moisture, temp change, something else you handled, or just something about your skin itself that got her curious so she decided to take a taste. Now sometimes it is a sign they are thirsty but not always. Some will only lightly give a tickle nibble, never breaking skin, but others will give it a solid chomp. I've noticed some species are more prone to this sort of behavior and within species certain individuals are more prone to it than others.Usually you can tell they are thinking about it because their antennae will start to move up and down in a pulsating manner and then they will tilt their heads to look down before finally bending down. If I see one of mine is thinking about it I always just stick a little something not edible like bottom of my shirt or napkin, whatever is on hand, between where they are leaning over my skin. Usually they loose interest pretty quickly.


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## derryjellybies (Sep 1, 2012)

Krissim Klaw said:


> She sensed something on your hand. It could have been moisture, temp change, something else you handled, or just something about your skin itself that got her curious so she decided to take a taste. Now sometimes it is a sign they are thirsty but not always. Some will only lightly give a tickle nibble, never breaking skin, but others will give it a solid chomp. I've noticed some species are more prone to this sort of behavior and within species certain individuals are more prone to it than others.
> 
> Usually you can tell they are thinking about it because their antennae will start to move up and down in a pulsating manner and then they will tilt their heads to look down before finally bending down. If I see one of mine is thinking about it I always just stick a little something not edible like bottom of my shirt or napkin, whatever is on hand, between where they are leaning over my skin. Usually they loose interest pretty quickly.


Thank you for your response! You definitely satisfied my curiosity about this.


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## MandellaMandy123 (Sep 2, 2012)

brancsikia339 said:


> They will bite. And i'm guilty of flinging once or twice


Ooh, I don't think I've ever flung a mantid for a bite, but my poor bessbug bit me and I flung it across the room. It's still alive though. I did fling a mantid once because it got partially squished on my arm, and I just _flipped_.

It does seem like some are more likely to bite than others. I think it's just a matter of personality more than species. They only do it when I'm really bugging them.


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## Ruaumoko (Sep 3, 2012)

My last adult female wahlbergii nibbled me once or twice but didn't draw blood,The only other time one of my mantis has nipped with its claws is my old female theophilia-she just liked to let me know who was boss haha


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## irishdevil (Sep 9, 2012)

I do animal rescue. afte being bitten by snakes, lizards, rats and mice...the mantis bite did not cause a reaction. just a "'once you are done there better be a finger still there or you are screwed. becuase that is momma's tigger finger."


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## Chivalry (Sep 12, 2012)

patrickfraser said:


> I have been guilty of the flinging action. Who says a fat gravid female can't fly? :lol:


Oh my... lol.

I've kept 13 species now and none of them have ever bitten me, although I don't push it when the adult idolos fling their arms up and hiss  I've also never kept Cilnia.


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## JSaff86 (Sep 12, 2012)

im also guilty of the fling action.my first mantis i had in captivity last year grabbed my finger when i opened the top of its cage and my reflex kicked in lol.


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## BriGuy (Sep 12, 2012)

> Oh my... lol.
> 
> I've kept 13 species now and none of them have ever bitten me, although I don't push it when the adult idolos fling their arms up and hiss  I've also never kept Cilnia.


They can hiss? That would scare the heck out of me! Quote from the wiki page:



> "As part of the threat display, some species also may produce a hissing sound by expelling air from the abdominal spiracles."


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## MantidBro (Sep 14, 2012)

sueb4653 said:


> did it hurt? leave a hole etc etc
> 
> do they go voluntarily let go or did you have to force it loose


My mantid has bitten me more than once. She only does it though when I have just eaten because she thinks my hand is the source of the smell which she finds tasty. My mantid is a Stagmomantis Limbata, a smaller species of mantid (mine is 3" legs included, 2.5" body alone). Her bites don't hurt unless she keeps doing it in the same place, working at it.


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## MantidBro (Sep 14, 2012)

MantidBro said:


> My mantid has bitten me more than once. She only does it though when I have just eaten because she thinks my hand is the source of the smell which she finds tasty. My mantid is a Stagmomantis Limbata, a smaller species of mantid (mine is 3" legs included, 2.5" body alone). Her bites don't hurt unless she keeps doing it in the same place, working at it.


Also she does not stop voluntarily, I usually get her to stop just by removing her claws (which she grips your skin with while she thinks she's going to eat you). Then she can't bite because she doesn't have a grip. If she doesn't listen you can also use real food to coax her into releasing you and going for the prey


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