# Hi - and How best to "herd" a wild mantis



## 9845bk1 (Apr 5, 2011)

Hi,

Can anyone suggest the best way to "herd" a wild mantis?

Last summer on a green campus, I more than once noticed a large wild mantis just sitting on heavily used stairs, or on the ground in an active parking lot. Dangerous.

Both times I tried to motion or shoo it along, or onto my hand to deposit it somewhere safer, but they preferred to hold their ground and challenge me! Tempted, but was afraid of injuring them by picking them up at the thorax.

Any suggestions if it happens this year? (Besides carrying a net everywhere…)

-Glad I found this forum

---my mantis history---

Kept a wild-caught mantis each summer I was fortunate to find one when I was a kid. Fed mostly wild-caught flies here in the city. Friends would come to watch at feeding time. One used to call the fly-eyes meatballs and the legs spaghetti as they were consumed.

Although I cringe at the practice when thinking about it now, when no live food was available for an extended period in the Fall, I more than once got one mantis to eat a wiggled strip of bologna. (Hey I was seven.) She survived well into winter indoors.

When I was a bit older and not enough greenery around locally to find any, I got a Carolina biological catalog from school and ordered an egg case along with a starter culture of apterous Drosophila. Hatchlings were happy enough with the flies not to eat each other (that much) until I could release most of them. Of course kept a couple as pets. They seemed to do fine with mostly pet-store crickets. I always was leery of mealworms so I used to select softer freshly molted ones - but there was no rational basis for that. I'm sure I'll find more food tips on this forum.

Thinking of doing it again this summer to show some little ones what I think is the most regal insect of them all. And fun for me too.


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## animalexplorer (Apr 5, 2011)

Set your hand down in front of it and bring your other hand around the back side this might get it to hop/crawl on your other hand that is in front. By distracting with the hand moving from behind, it'll more than likely not notice it crawled into your other hand. You could also use a stick to have it crawl on instead of your hand.


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## sporeworld (Apr 5, 2011)

Ditto. Plus, now that I'm an adult and too old/lazy to go chasing things, I have a few professional butterfly nets that I chase them into. Helps with renegade flies, too.


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## GreenOasis (Apr 5, 2011)

Welcome...you have found a friendly place to help foster your addiction! We're all a bunch of "enablers" here!


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## PRicardo (Apr 5, 2011)

Welcome to the forums!


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## Rick (Apr 5, 2011)

Do the hand method or just stop fooling around and pick them up by grasping the thorax. Welcome!


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## hibiscusmile (Apr 5, 2011)

Welcome, glad to see you here, hope u enjoy it!


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## ismart (Apr 5, 2011)

Welcome to the forum!


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## Mr.Mantid (Apr 5, 2011)

Welcome!


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## 9845bk1 (Apr 6, 2011)

Thanks to all for the herding advice and welcomes. I look forward to exploring the posts and archives when I can.

PS Just noticed my status. Outside of this forum, been a while since I was last called an ootheca...


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## hierodula (Apr 6, 2011)

Welcome


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## patrickfraser (Apr 6, 2011)

bk674 said:


> Thanks to all for the herding advice and welcomes. I look forward to exploring the posts and archives when I can.
> 
> PS Just noticed my status. Outside of this forum, been a while since I was last called an ootheca...


In the Army in Korea, new arrivals were called "turtles", because they had a habit of falling into the monsoon drainage canals. When the year long tour of duty was almost up, you were called a "short-timer". It takes much less time here to molt to higher levels.


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## dgerndt (Apr 6, 2011)

Welcome! You're lucky to find so many wild mantids. I've only seen three in the wild.


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## Jolienar (Apr 9, 2011)

Welcome to the Forums.


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## cuervo (Apr 12, 2011)

Welcome to the forum


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## PhilinYuma (Apr 12, 2011)

Welcome, and like Rick says!


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## Peter Clausen (Apr 15, 2011)

Great intro post! Hope to see you around more.


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## Lissimore12 (May 9, 2011)

Deby said:


> Welcome! You're lucky to find so many wild mantids. I've only seen three in the wild.


Lucky you, ive never seen ANY in the wild. There are no wild mantids for many thousands of kilometers from where i live.


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