Friend thought he saw a huge chinese mantis

[Mantis Man13]

My friend thought he saw a huge chinese mantis that was 7 inches long not including antennae. He wasn't joking or lying either he really thought he saw one that big and his parents said they saw it too. Why is it that everybody tends to exaggerate with the size of insects? :huh: . Like when someone says to me "help there is a huge spider" and it is actually 1 inch long :dots: . I told my friend that no such mantis that long even exists in America and that if it did it would be the longest mantis in the world, toxedera sp.. So how do you guys handle this kind of stuff because I know it happens to you too lol.

 

[mantiseater]

People always tell me they saw a huge mantis that dwarfs the one I am showing them. They indicate with their hands a mantis that would be over a foot long lol

 

[mantiseater]

Toxodera is actually not the longest. The longest is ischnomantis gigas

 

[Mantis Man13]

I know it is like they have no measurement skills whatsoever! I can guesstimate sizes of a mantis but for some reason everyone else says they are huge! I told him to back up that he was wrong about the mantis being 7 inches that his pet adult female Carolina was 2 inches long. I told him I was there and it was that size but he insisted it was 3 INCHES LONG why he no understand that that is one huge Carolina? I have seen at least 20 Carolina adult females and they were all exactly 2 inches! Also mantis eater toxedera and ischnomantis are the same size, but I already checked with other people on the forum and ischnomantis's cerci should not count like antennnae since they are more than one inch long :mellow: . That would be like saying a person was taller than the other because he had a foot high mohawk XD.

 

[mantiseater]

The thing that protrudes out of the back of ischnomantis is not the cerci

 

[Mantis Man13]

What are they then? They look like cerci. Even if they aren't they are still extensions of the body and shouldn't count.

 

[MantidBro]

i know some people count the legs/arms when measuring. That could be it. There is also one species of tenodera that gets to be pretty huge, not sure if its over in america though.

 

[Aryia]

It's actually really hard to correctly guess the length of something unless you work with measurements often. Plus antennae and legs and such all count within measurement for people who don't know insects.. and it's hard to get an accurate measurement of something you don't want to touch. You're literally just guesstimating from far away using objects near it to size it up. Fear factor might make insects huge too... I know when I see a giant spider it looks about six inches big in my memories when in reality it's leg span would be closer to 3-4 inches.

 

[CosbyArt]

Sizes sure get exaggerated for sure, but there may be some truth to it too. I've seen some reports of gigantism in remote areas in some insects, likely due to overeating or a hormone/gene defect. So that might add a inch or two but still falls short of the size of a giant mantis able to attack a dog or such.

 

[Mantis Man13]

Ok thx

 

[sschind]

People exaggerate the size of everything... like reptiles. Did you know there are place by me where 5 foot garter snakes appear to be the norm? I have a pretty good sized bearded dragon (she is about 18 inches) and truthfully she is one of the largest ones I have ever seen. I know larger ones exist but they are not usually your standard pet dragons. I had several people tell me that their pet dragons were at least twice as big as mine. A 36" bearded dragon. That's one big dragon.

I also noticed that when people hold their hands (or fingers) apart to indicate size they rarely get the corresponding number right. I've seen people hold their hands a good foot apart and say something like (she has to be at least 7 or 8 inches) or even the other way "he is about a foot and a half long" and they have their hands a foot apart.

Usually when people start talking about size I just tune that part out. I know foot long praying mantises don't exist in Wisconsin (or Northern Illinois) and I know ball pythons don't get to be 10 feet long.

Interestingly, as a fish store owner, I can tell you that when people are looking to get rid of fish that have outgrown their tanks the tendency to minimize the size is a much more common occurrence. I've had more than my share of "5 or 6 inch" oscars and tinfoil barbs turn into 10-12" tank busters sometime between the time they told me about them and the time the got to my store.

 

[Jay]

People exaggerate the size of everything... like reptiles. Did you know there are place by me where 5 foot garter snakes appear to be the norm? I have a pretty good sized bearded dragon (she is about 18 inches) and truthfully she is one of the largest ones I have ever seen. I know larger ones exist but they are not usually your standard pet dragons. I had several people tell me that their pet dragons were at least twice as big as mine. A 36" bearded dragon. That's one big dragon.

I also noticed that when people hold their hands (or fingers) apart to indicate size they rarely get the corresponding number right. I've seen people hold their hands a good foot apart and say something like (she has to be at least 7 or 8 inches) or even the other way "he is about a foot and a half long" and they have their hands a foot apart.

Usually when people start talking about size I just tune that part out. I know foot long praying mantises don't exist in Wisconsin (or Northern Illinois) and I know ball pythons don't get to be 10 feet long.

Interestingly, as a fish store owner, I can tell you that when people are looking to get rid of fish that have outgrown their tanks the tendency to minimize the size is a much more common occurrence. I've had more than my share of "5 or 6 inch" oscars and tinfoil barbs turn into 10-12" tank busters sometime between the time they told me about them and the time the got to my store.

Ha! Do you ever ask people how the fish grew so fast?

 

[sschind]

Ha! Do you ever ask people how the fish grew so fast?

Usually I just say something like "its a little bigger than you said on the phone" Of course there are the ones who think their 10 inch Oscars are worth their weight in gold and are "willing to trade them for about $25.00 in store credit"

 

[mantisman 230]

Actually, Ischnomantis isn't as long as a full from female Heterochaeta orientalis. Females are 15 cm and larger. That I. gigas only measures about 14 or so

 

[Mantis Man13]

oh ok

 

[Danny.]

My friend swears she saw one like this...