Wild Carolina nymphs 2015

Coming home from work I was greeted by many wild Stagmomantis carolina nymph hatching. It was a great sight when I started to unlock the door and noticed several about 5 inches from my hand.

Turns out there were two ooths crammed in-between the fence post and the siding of my house. Over the course of two days I got to witness many wild Stagmomantis carolina nymphs hatching and running off to the nearby plants and flowers, June 17 and 18.

At the time I had many mantids inside so I left them all where I found them, and of course now I wish I got a couple of them (especially as it seems they are hard to come by on the forum). Luckily though it means I'll be able to capture several fertile adults this fall, and some ooths even later.

Here are three photos from the two days of hatches, and the last is my favorite (and perhaps my favorite mantid photo I captured yet).

They are cute!

So cute. I'm super jealous. I want adorable mantis nymphs hatching in my backyard. All I get are ants and wasps. Lots and lots of ants and wasps. XP

I was really hoping to try this species out but so far luck hasn't been on my side.

Krissim Klaw said:

So cute. I'm super jealous. I want adorable mantis nymphs hatching in my backyard. All I get are ants and wasps. Lots and lots of ants and wasps. XP

I was really hoping to try this species out but so far luck hasn't been on my side.

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I'm sure if you ask nicely, one of the Illinois members could acquire you a few...

I'm also having the issue of ants :|

CosbyArt said:

Coming home from work I was greeted by many wild Stagmomantis carolina nymph hatching. It was a great sight when I started to unlock the door and noticed several about 5 inches from my hand.

Turns out there were two ooths crammed in-between the fence post and the siding of my house. Over the course of two days I got to witness many wild Stagmomantis carolina nymphs hatching and running off to the nearby plants and flowers, June 17 and 18.

At the time I had many mantids inside so I left them all where I found them, and of course now I wish I got a couple of them (especially as it seems they are hard to come by on the forum). Luckily though it means I'll be able to capture several fertile adults this fall, and some ooths even later.

Here are three photos from the two days of hatches, and the last is my favorite (and perhaps my favorite mantid photo I captured yet).

...

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Very cool find there CosbyArt, I really love that last photo!

Sticky said:

They are cute!

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They are, and I can't wait to see them again as they grow up.

Krissim Klaw said:

So cute. I'm super jealous. I want adorable mantis nymphs hatching in my backyard. All I get are ants and wasps. Lots and lots of ants and wasps. XP

I was really hoping to try this species out but so far luck hasn't been on my side.

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If it helps, it was the first ever I've seen it in the wild myself. Of course I know what they look like now, so i might have seen it before but just never knew what they were. It was neat though, and I even had my wife and others (even a neighbor) come and see them lol.

I understand the ants and bee's, in my area the Carpenter ants and Bumble bees are thick. I usually have to call a badminton racket in the backyard to take care of the bees (especially when I mow) - a quick swing and it slices them into pieces.

LAME said:

I'm sure if you ask nicely, one of the Illinois members could acquire you a few...

I'm also having the issue of ants :|

Very cool find there CosbyArt, I really love that last photo!

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Hmm, I might know him as well. Right now I have a new Ghost nymph coming soon so I'll have to get back to him later.

Thanks, I really like how the photo turned out too.

That is a late hatching. Cool.

Very cute! Last picture is my favorite.

Ryan Minard said:

That is a late hatching. Cool.

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I thought so too, but is another reason I shouldn't have any trouble rescuing some last this fall (my wife will understand)

MikhailsDinos said:

Very cute! Last picture is my favorite.

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Thanks, mine as well.

Very cool pictures especially the last one. I hope to add a few carolina mantids to my collection one day.

Lynx said:

Very cool pictures especially the last one. I hope to add a few carolina mantids to my collection one day.

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Thanks. The Carolina is a great species that often gets overlooked due to being a native in most areas, best of luck with your collection