can I ask a possibly controversial question??

[agent A]

ok so here it goes
why do people who eat meat and keep mantises get so uptight about their mantis' well-being, when they view other, more closely related non-human animal species as little more than possible food sources? And the people who won't think twice about squishing a spider or setting mousetraps but love their mantises, where does this love for the mantis that unites this community fall short at other species??
I'm not trying to get anyone fired up but I've always wondered this

 

[Jaunte]

There are multiple questions here.
When you say uptight, are you referring to owners fussing over the quality of their feeders for their mantises but don’t display the same level of care for their own meat sources?

 

[Introvertebrate]

We're like Greenpeace. We like to play God. Some animals deserve to live. Others don't.

 

[happy1892]

Maybe mantises look like people with their front legs that look like arms? So people get attached to them?

 

[Introvertebrate]

Maybe mantises look like people with their front legs that look like arms? So people get attached to them?

You've got a point there. They're so visual too. They track you with their heads. We can relate. Every autumn, people register for the sole purpose of trying to postpone the inevitable. Once they realize there's no hope, they're gone for good.

 

[hibiscusmile]

I always feel for anything I have to kill unless it's something that scares me. I know people won't like that but it's the truth. As the member said we play God on who lives and dies. I was so concerned with my roaches when I had them, just like now with the super worms taking up a lot of my time, I ended up giving them to someone else who for over 10 years has kept raising and selling them.

 

[Synapze]

Maybe it's because humans have selective compassion. I often think of this exact subject.

I don't kill anything except poisonous spiders, hornets if they are a safety hazard... and roaches. Anything else that sneaks in the house gets captured and released. If I fed roaches I'd never run out of feeders. Unfortunately where I live the 2 options are to learn to live with a house full of roaches or treat for them. Because of the treatments I can't use them for feeders.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Sometimes I think invasive roaches would be the easiest feeders. You'd have to guard against escapes, but they wouldn't require any special conditions. No supplemental heat, etc.

 

[agent A]

Maybe it's because humans have selective compassion. I often think of this exact subject.

yea I think that's it. I always wonder how someone who has no problem eating an animal could give a hoot about animal welfare, but plenty of carnists have dogs, cats, mantises, etc

I don't kill anything except poisonous spiders,

you mean venomous?

hornets if they are a safety hazard... and roaches. Anything else that sneaks in the house gets captured and released. If I fed roaches I'd never run out of feeders. Unfortunately where I live the 2 options are to learn to live with a house full of roaches or treat for them. Because of the treatments I can't use them for feeders.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Maybe it's because humans have selective compassion...............

It has a lot to do with total body mass. Whales, elephants, lions, anything big must be protected. Also anything cute and furry. If it has scales or an exoskeleton, it doesn't matter as much.

 

[Synapze]

you mean venomous?

Yes.

 

[Synapze]

It has a lot to do with total body mass. Whales, elephants, lions, anything big must be protected. Also anything cute and furry. If it has scales or an exoskeleton, it doesn't matter as much.

I was called out (politely) on Instagram after I posted a mantis eating a katydid. I honestly didn't realize people kept them as pets and would get upset seeing one used as a feeder.

 

[Introvertebrate]

I've heard the chameleon guys talk about putting a mantis ooth inside their chameleon enclosure. I'm guessing that didn't sit well with some folks either.

 

[Synapze]

I've heard the chameleon guys talk about putting a mantis ooth inside their chameleon enclosure. I'm guessing that didn't sit well with some folks either.

I've known a couple of people who have used Chinese mantis nymphs as feeders. That's something I could never do.

 

[TheWolven]

I've heard the chameleon guys talk about putting a mantis ooth inside their chameleon enclosure. I'm guessing that didn't sit well with some folks either.

Yeah that sort of thing makes me angry. I also admit my biases though. I love mantises and wouldn’t care if they were hatching out other insects like flies.

 

[TheWolven]

Maybe it's because humans have selective compassion. I often think of this exact subject.

I don't kill anything except poisonous spiders, hornets if they are a safety hazard... and roaches. Anything else that sneaks in the house gets captured and released. If I fed roaches I'd never run out of feeders. Unfortunately where I live the 2 options are to learn to live with a house full of roaches or treat for them. Because of the treatments I can't use them for feeders.

Roaches also carry diseases and are a hazard for human health if a colony establishes itself outside an enclosure. I’d think on that.

 

[Mantis Lady]

Maybe mantises look like people with their front legs that look like arms? So people get attached to them?

I think that is the reason. they watch you with turning their head like we do and front legs look like arms. Just human like.
But feeders must be taken care for too, because that will be the meal for the mantis.

I have a few big hissing roaches, but but won't feed them to my mantis. but with their young that is another story. I have fed them to my mantis because i don't know what to do with them. Think this year they will mate too because of heat wave. and I have free feeders again.

 

[TheWolven]

I think that is the reason. they watch you with turning their head like we do and front legs look like arms. Just human like.
But feeders must be taken care for too, because that will be the meal for the mantis.

I have a few big hissing roaches, but but won't feed them to my mantis. but with their young that is another story. I have fed them to my mantis because i don't know what to do with them. Think this year they will mate too because of heat wave. and I have free feeders again

Yeah it’s because mantises are a little more capable of expression that we can recognize too! I’ve had plenty of mantises throw tantrums because they didn’t like the food I was pushing towards them.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Of course, when they're watching you, they're simply trying to determine whether you're predator or prey. There's no in-between. There is no third alternative.

 

[TheWolven]

Of course, when they're watching you, they're simply trying to determine whether you're predator or prey. There's no in-between. There is no third alternative.

Yep! They're intelligent in their own manner, but ultimately are creatures motivated purely by instinct. Why ponder life when you can eat, reproduce, and die?