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I just caught a wild Chinese mantis a couple of days ago and notice a very fishy, strong smell. Oddly, she has a good appetite but does not pass any poop (frass). I've had her for 2 days. I feed her only small amounts. I notice the areas between her segments (on the abdomen) appear black...

Definitely yes for the Chinese mantis!  It's more likely to be observed early in their adult lives, shortly after their last molt (when they first get their wings).  Once they start getting large and building up their egg mass, they get too heavy to fly.  I saw on numerous occasions, young...

FedEx actually has an "animal shipping desk."  They will actually overnight the critter with delivery first thing in the morning.

Back in mid-October, I took them into my home and measured them with a ruler.  I have never seen them more than 4 inches long in the past.  I was shocked that 2 of them topped out at 4.5 inches and the others were between 4 and 4.5 inches.  It must have been an exceptional summer for finding...

I found a bunch of these BIG (4.5 inch plus) T. sinensis in the meadows along the Appalachian Trail (in Virginia)

I am so sorry little Pegleg didn't make it.  I have had so many mantises mismolt.  Those that do ok (after losing limbs) seem to be such a miracle. The ramp I made was just with cloth (a towel) and all along the cage wall (which happens to be hamper material). I made like a shallow gradient...

I've had Chinese mantis with the same type of molt injury (back legs on one side all missing).  He molted (somehow) because I built a sort of "ramp" that he was able to keep the good side anchored and hang.  Each molt, the bad side leg stubs developed and grew larger. Once it reached adult size...

I agree with you.  They are very cool and very aware.  I like how your picture shows so much detail.  Did you use a macro lens?   I let them stay in my house until May.   Are you keeping Charlie (and anyone else you find) through the winter?

Ooh!  Nice wolf spider!  How big is he/she?  Are you taking it into your home?  We get wolf spiders in our basement during the fall.  They are escaping the cold.  We help them out a little by letting them stay in our basement to free range on whatever is down there. Sometimes we keep them in a...

Congrat's on your Carolina haven!  I have to agree with Minomatis.  I would say a definite NO about Carolinas being housed together.  Even as nymphs, they just eat each other like you wouldn't believe!  They seem more ravenous than even the Chinese mantis.  The females are especially hungry (all...

Regarding the kinked abdomen, if possible, it would be best to discourage them from always hanging from the ceiling (in my experience).  I've raised numerous batches of Chinese mantises, and may of those that I did not remedy the kink for ended up dying.  Eventually, the gut gets a blockage and...

Thanks again Krissim Klaw.  No other losses so far.  It's always tough to lose one. They each have different personalities and I get attached. Oddly, I had decided to keep ones that weren't doing so well and released the healthy ones (except for this one). The "sick" ones with bad molts (mostly...

Thank you Krissim Klaw for your quick response.  So is there anything I should be aware of or should perhaps do differently?  I provide water for them just once a day (as mist).  I notice that some of them drink and some don't.  They have high air circulation so water doesn't stand around for...

Has anyone seen this type of problem with their mantis?  This is a T. sinensis who hatched May 19th and has had his third molt (not including hatch as a molt).  It was always the strongest and fastest growing among the ones I kept.  The last molt was June 13th. Then I noticed on the 16th that...

Wow! Thanks everyone. I'll look in Bugguide.net for details!

I am not never very good at identifying bugs (other than those that I have kept or am familiar with). My friend unfortunately found this guy deceased but hopes to find more of them alive and would like to know if anyone can ID it. Thanks!

AxolotlsAreCoolToo, I do the same thing! I like to feed new "guest" nymphs and keep them through a molt and then let them back out. As a matter of fact, before Hungry Ghost and Ntsees helped me out with the ID, I tried veggies first. Obviously, he was not interested in those. Well I found a...

Awesome! Thanks to you Ntsees and Hungry Ghost for your responses. Ok-then he can stay in my garden and eat bugs for me. I don't need to worry about putting him in any type of special environment or on any particular plant.

I have had this problem before with my Tenodera species. Digger is right in that it is very difficult to correct. However, if you can try to avoid them hanging upside down from the ceiling of the cage, that would be best. I had several who had that problem. They all died because they...

Does anyone know what this critter is? We found him inside our house and don’t know what he is or where he came from. I called him Houdini because he is good at getting out of cages. I want to release him back into the wild but would like to know what he is and where his habitat should be...