# Any big appetite photos?



## Ian

Well, I would just be intertested to see any photos of your small mantids, eating large prey. I know some can tackle montrous sized prey, anyone test out what kinda sizes your species will eat? Thought I would with one of my mios, she seems to eat anything, so I offered her a locust. And, she ate it! Heres a pic of the madam:







Actually, she has only eaten the head so far, will be interesting to see how much she will actually eat of it  

Cheers,

Ian


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## Rick

I'll play:

Chinese eating a large nightcrawler






Chinese eating large grasshopper






Female H Grandis eating female chinese






Wild chinese eating a bumblebee.






H. Grandis eating a large cicada.


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## robo mantis

i give up man rick won lol


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## hortus

lol best i got is my mendica nymph with a cricket twice his size


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## infinity

on that topic cos i'm too lazy to do a search... remember the mantid v scorpion thing we had on here - if anyone's got one of a mantid actually winning, that should definitely be on here!


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## Rick

Can't take credit for this pic but here is a mantis and a hummingbird.


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## Johnald Chaffinch

wow that wasp thing in ricks 'Wild chinese eating a bumblebee' pic looks ace


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## Macano

Subadult Heirodula munching on a big moth:






Munching on a lizard. Sorry for the blurriness:


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## Jodokohajjio

If you do a search for praying mantis on google video (www.video.google.com) a pretty brutal battle between a mouse and a mantis shows up. Be warned, though, that it is kinda cruel and a little gory


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## nympho

> Subadult Heirodula munching on a big moth:


looks like the end of a lovely hawkmoth (v rare in uk). shame on you macano :shock:


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## Macano

No worries, I confirmed it's a tomato hornworm moth, which we have oodles of here in the summer time.


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## Gecko Assassins

Awesome pictures..all of you


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## Johnald Chaffinch

> If you do a search for praying mantis on google video (www.video.google.com) a pretty brutal battle between a mouse and a mantis shows up. Be warned, though, that it is kinda cruel and a little gory


woh, that's sick. good find!!

now that's what i call a fight


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## Hilly

> If you do a search for praying mantis on google video (www.video.google.com) a pretty brutal battle between a mouse and a mantis shows up. Be warned, though, that it is kinda cruel and a little gory


I'll say. I was planning on buying my first mantids till I saw this. Don't know if I will now.

Hilly


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## Jwonni

dont let it put you off, which bit is putting you off?

mice are not the diet of a pet mantis so you dont need to worry about the blood and suffering as you give em insects

if your wooried about them being viscious mine arnt this one is in a life or death situation with someone also shaking the jar up


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## Hilly

> dont let it put you off, which bit is putting you off?mice are not the diet of a pet mantis so you dont need to worry about the blood and suffering as you give em insects
> 
> if your wooried about them being viscious mine arnt this one is in a life or death situation with someone also shaking the jar up


I guess it was the visciousness of the mantises attack on the mouse. It really creeped me out  

I also have a few more thoughts on this, but won't post them here.

Have a nice day.

Hilly


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## Rick

LOL. Nothing to worry about. Yes, mantids can be aggressive but thats part of why I like to keep them.


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## Ian

oh dear, you would have a lot more worries about keeping something like a gecko...or shal I say, there is more potential for it to atack you, or for you to get hurt. And, have you ever ehard anyone getting hurt or attacked by a gecko? And mostly...have you ever heard anyone getting hurt or attacked by a MANTIS?

They are a joke as far as attacking goes..


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## Hilly

> oh dear, you would have a lot more worries about keeping something like a gecko...or shal I say, there is more potential for it to atack you, or for you to get hurt. And, have you ever ehard anyone getting hurt or attacked by a gecko? And mostly...have you ever heard anyone getting hurt or attacked by a MANTIS? They are a joke as far as attacking goes..


I'm not afraid of getting attacked by a mantis or any other animal. I just said it creeped me out seeing that video. The way in which a mantis kills (or should I say DOESN'T kill it's prey is what creeps me out). I'm just happy that people are BIG  

Have a nice day.

Hilly


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## Ian

Okay yeah, I see where you are coming from..

But Il have to agree with you..if we were the size of a locust, or, a mantis larger than us, wouldn't be a particularly pleasant experience getting munched..

Cheers,

Ian


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## Hilly

> Okay yeah, I see where you are coming from..But Il have to agree with you..if we were the size of a locust, or, a mantis larger than us, wouldn't be a particularly pleasant experience getting munched..
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ian


Heh. The phrase "Bite me!" takes on a whole new meaning! :lol:


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## Samzo

Well, if your that freaked by seeing a mantis eat then I don't think you'll last with it eating lots of crickets. I suggest you get a rabbit or something.. :?


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## Hilly

> Well, if your that freaked by seeing a mantis eat then I don't think you'll last with it eating lots of crickets. I suggest you get a rabbit or something.. :?


Doesn't bother me in the least to see a mantis eat a bug, but it did bother me to see that mantis chew on that mouse. And I'm still glad people are BIG. :lol: 

So Samzo, what kinds of stuff creep you out?

Hilly


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## Macano

Yea mantids can be brutal, if you are prey. Being impaled and squeezed tight by those arms, then ripped alive by the lethal jaws. Ugh, what a way to go. At least a spider or scorpion poisons the prey. Makes me glad I'm 'top of the food chain' too  Could you imagine a mantid the size of a cat or dog? Being aggressive as they are, I'd say a labrador sized mantid would take down an adult human!Actually, what fascinates me most about mantids is their eating habits. Fascinating to watch. They are very efficient at what they do: eat, eat, and eat some more!

But don't let that video keep you from getting at least one mantid. Just feed it what won't bother you that the mantid will still like and you'll see how neat they are.


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## micheleinvirginia

That video bothered me too. I noticed the guy said Roberta killed everything they ever put in a jar with her. That was just cruel on his part.

It makes you realize what they are capable of if pushed to their limits, but there is no way I would ever give my babies up.


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## Jwonni

> Well, if your that freaked by seeing a mantis eat then I don't think you'll last with it eating lots of crickets. I suggest you get a rabbit or something


i couldn't disagree more i love my mantids but was disgusted by the video no way i could do that but i feed mine insects no problem

i also read on anotyher site someone was impressed the mantid could handle it then another person said it was because every time the mouse got on top they shook the jar as i said i aint watching again buit i remember they did shake the jar several times

there is a big difference between feeding them insects and mammals but i understand some of you will feed bigger things like the lizard pic and i wouodn't knock you for it as in the wild they would but i cant personally do it

Also Hilly that i guess is one of the giant mantids obviously the smaller scale something is the less detail and gore


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## Samzo

Ok fair points. I just don't think anything gets to me (km not trying to be all hard and manly lol) Is it just the fact it was a mammal or is it the fact it was all distressed and was slightly gorey? I've fed mice to my mantis and there are pics on this site to prove it and I saw brains and all that but then again it wasnt squeeking etc.


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## Ian

That sux  The squeaking would have made it a real experience...


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## Hilly

> At least a spider or scorpion poisons the prey.


I wouldn't want to be eaten by a spider, either. The poison they inject with those fangs liquifies the prey so they can just suck it up. It would be like getting injected with acid or something. Imagine how that would feel!

Yep, life is good at the top of the food chain.... :wink:

Someone should do a poll as to wheter you'd rather be injected with acid and liquified, or die having bites taken out of you. :twisted:


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