Biting?

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meaganelise9

meaganelise9

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 2, 2011
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Location
Madison, WI USA
So at first, my husband was extremely uneasy about my decision to keep a mantis. When he was little, he had bit bitten by a Chinese which is no doubt painful. Now he just associates that one experience with them all. I'm trying to tell him that he was likely bitten because of the way in which he grabbed the mantis, surprising a bug in the wild, and I show him that I can handle a popa without a problem.

I was wondering if any of you ever get bitten. If so, what are the circumstances that lead up to it? My guess is that it would result from mishandling and/or happen more with wild caught bugs.

On the bright side, he seems to be warming up to them. It's hard not to see how amazing they are to watch, after all. ^_^

 
It happens to me rarely when a mantis is hungry and mistakes a finger for prey, usually an older mantis does this. My daughter who will be 6 this month, gets bitten more frequently. I think it is because she is not the best at washing her hands and they probably taste sweet, little fingers might also be easier to mistake for prey.

When mantids have gotten defensive with me, they usually just slapped, or grasped and quickly released with or without a quick bite snuck in there. :rolleyes:

I could probably be worse if a mantis is being restrained, but I avoid doing that and was lucky the times that I have.

"Finger, it's the other white meat." :lol:

 
My orchid always bites me. She is just a mare, so i leave her alone, and we live in harmony. She has drawn blood a few times (which i thought was impossible, considering my husband calls me a cold hearted b***H lol). I just think 1 out of 500 biting is'nt bad.

Tina x

 
i get bit by my chinese all the time. they are just goin of a drink on my finger and like what they taste!

 
I've only had it happen once with a female, she doing a 30 inch sprint up my arm and I grabbed her in a way she didn't like. Never broke the skin and didn't even hurt, but I could tell it was a bite. It felt like a toothpick tapped the web of my hand.

 
Yes, a few times but only when collecting in the field. Mantids chew and don't really bite. It would take even a large mantis awhile to chew through your skin. The sharp points on the tips of the front legs are far more likely to pierce your skin than the mouth would be able to chew through it. But then again if you know how to grab a mantis both can be avoided. And a mantis that is sitting on you isn't just going to start biting unless grabbed. Really a mantis bite should be the last thing to worry about. I think it is a bit silly to even be concerned with it.

 
My mantids have only gotten a chance to chew thruogh my skin( when they mistake finger for prey), because I am patient and willl never swat or do anything forceful to get them off , and need to find something to block their mouths while they are nomming on me. It really doesn't hurt bad, and even my 5 year old daughter will not hurt a foolish flesh eater. :rolleyes: It is a superficial injury that doesn't bother me, or my little girl.

Like Rick stated, it likely won't happen if the mantis is sitting on you.

 
idahomantid said:
Never broke the skin and didn't even hurt, but I could tell it was a bite. It felt like a toothpick tapped the web of my hand.
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Same here. They won't really hurt you unless you let them chew on your finger for a while. It's scary when you're little though :) I don't blame your husband for being scared.

 
I know this is a tad old, but I figured it was new enough to use instead of making my own.

Anywho, I had this female European that was happily crawling around on my hands. She decided to plop-a-squat on my bare wrist. I looked away and as soon as I did, she bent down an started to take a nibble! She was very, very strong and I ended up with I would describe as a tiny blood-blister. I had to resist the urge to fling her across the room!

Just a fluke? I've never had one bite me while it just sat on me!

 
Pssh said:
I know this is a tad old, but I figured it was new enough to use instead of making my own.

Anywho, I had this female European that was happily crawling around on my hands. She decided to plop-a-squat on my bare wrist. I looked away and as soon as I did, she bent down an started to take a nibble! She was very, very strong and I ended up with I would describe as a tiny blood-blister. I had to resist the urge to fling her across the room!

Just a fluke? I've never had one bite me while it just sat on me!
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Anything can happen.

I had a S.carolina male that mounted my forearm, he didn't bite, but he did some damage cause he refused to release me, and it hurt. I still can't figure out how he could mistake my arm for a mate.

I have noticed that many hobbiests (even very experienced ones) don't want to just come out and say that the insects can and will bite once in a while, but it hasn't taken me long to find out that if it's anatomy is capable of doing damage, it can happen from time to time. :rolleyes:

I have read in posts on another forum about roaches biting, and some people come right out and say that "roaches don't bite", but it has happened to me, both with nibbling on a tasty food flavored finger, and in defense when restrained.

Still, nonvenomous insect bites don't bother me much, but it is understandable that many people don't want to be injured in any way, even if it is just superficial.

If it has a mouth, it can bite you. If it has claws it can pinch you. If it has spiky legs it can jab you. Does it happen all the time? NO. I find it to be part of the hobby, for people that handle their pets, and well worth a couple of scratches here and there. ;)

 
I've been bitten quite a few times. Not often these days though. Also, it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. You get used to handling them and they occasionally take a nibble then stop after realizing what they are biting. Hahaha! I used to handle them wrong and that resulted in multiple puncture wounds inflicted by raptorial legs and powerful jaws both. I learned to deal with the pain when I was young because I was obsessed with insects from the age of 6. Now I know how to handle them and I don't get anymore blood blisters or cuts.

 
Ive never been bitten but I have been "stabbed" by one of my Chinese and yes it does hurt. Btw I posted a topic a lot like this a few moths ago. There were a lot of bite stories in there if you can find it. Try searching this forum for "attack".

 
I'm not too concerned. I have yet to get bitten, actually. My husband has still never held any of my bugs, but he has grown to appreciate them a lot more, which I'm happy about. That's enough for me.

 
That female is crazy. She keeps trying to get me any way she can now! I've been stabbed before and bitten when holding a wild mantis in a way it did not like, but this lady is ready to attack whenever she sees me.

Needless to say, I will not be handling her much if at all anymore.

 
Pssh said:
That female is crazy. She keeps trying to get me any way she can now! I've been stabbed before and bitten when holding a wild mantis in a way it did not like, but this lady is ready to attack whenever she sees me.

Needless to say, I will not be handling her much if at all anymore.
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If she bent down and bit your wrist like in a previous post and she keeps trying to eat at you, she might be very hungry. Is she an adult?

I have had a Chinese female that was extremely hungry all the time (hungrier than her sisters). She seemed like she just didn't care what it was (human flesh or insect), if it had moisture she wanted to eat it. I would have no problem with her if she was fed well, before handling.

I always had a feeder handy when I had to get her out of container for any reason. If she tried to eat me, I would just put the feeder in her face and she would happily eat it. She seemed like she just didn't care what it was, if it had moisture she wanted to eat it.

If she is attacking without warning, then she may be a mantis that simply wants more food, even if she looks plump.

If she is threat displaying before the attacks, it is probably her temper and she is better off being left alone.

 
She eats all she wants, I put food in there twice a day. She wont take food from my hand. She never shows a threat display. I think she is just mean! :) Maybe she is just very territorial?

 
I personally have never been bitten. At least not from mantids.

I'm sure some are just mean or hungry, but mine always were cool with me.

Now hornworms seem to like any loose skin on my fingers.

No pain, but a ###### look on my face doesn't even stop them.

I must taste great to them.

 

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