Greetings from South Florida

[Scruffy Aphid Herder]

Hello, My name is Nate, But you may call me by my username; Scruffy Aphid Herder or just Scruffy. If you can't tell by the name I'm a Star Wars fan and I'm really into entomology. I'm here because I feel it would be very cool to own a pet mantis. I don't have one yet, but I've recently been building a vivarium and I plan to let one loose in tank, making it feel right as home. Anyway, I'm from South Florida and at a point I really thought I'd just find a mantis in the wild but the only time I've encountered a mantis was about 3 years ago in Orlando. It was light brown and about 3 inches. It was stranded on piece of pvc that was sticking out of a large fountain; I picked him up before he fell in a drown and placed it in some bushes. He looked at me and leaned side to side and just stared at me. I took it as a thank you even though it probably wasn't and left. Now I'm more into them and would love to have one as a pet.

So, I only have one question for the experienced from a first time buyer.

What Mantis species is medium to large and has a longer life span than 6 months (would like about a year and half. The longer life span the better) ???

I was looking at these species cause I really like the way they look.

Giant Asian Mantis

Shield Mantis

Giant Rainforest Mantis

 

[hierodula]

Go giant asian or giant shield. The giant rainforest is nice however, its bulky ness may lead to some molting problems. I haven;t had trouble with the other two before, but ultimately it is your choice. And welcome!

 

[mantid_mike]

Welcome to the forum, Nate/Scruffy.

I'd go with the Shield Mantis. They're a beautiful species and aggressive eaters.

 

[sally]

Welcome!

 

[frogparty]

I'd recommend a ghost mantis. Not the biggest mantis out there, but a reliable beginner species, and the females are extremely long lived.

Life span is also dependent on the temperature you keep them at, and how heavily you feed. A female ghost kept in the mid 70s and fed conservatively will get close to attaining the lifespan that you want

 

[Birdman]

Welcome Scruffy

 

[Rick]

Welcome. You're in a great location for U.S. mantids.

 

[aNisip]

Welcome to the forum! Where abouts in south FL are you? And yes, like Rick said, we have a great state for mantises!

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[Scruffy Aphid Herder]

Welcome to the forum! Where abouts in south FL are you? And yes, like Rick said, we have a great state for mantises!

Cheers,

Andrew

I'm in Hollywood. And yeah I didn't know that. Can you suggest where I'd be able to find them ?

 

[grob]

Hi Nate, welcome!

I live just a few miles North of you in Plantation. I'd be glad to give you some forth instar Tenodera sinensis (the "Chinese mantis" commonly found in the US) - I have too many. I haven't been at it very long but I'd be glad to show you my setup if you are interested. --rob

 

[Scruffy Aphid Herder]

Hi Nate, welcome!

I live just a few miles North of you in Plantation. I'd be glad to give you some forth instar Tenodera sinensis (the "Chinese mantis" commonly found in the US) - I have too many. I haven't been at it very long but I'd be glad to show you my setup if you are interested. --rob

Oh cool, yeah I would love that. Right now it's a bit complicated for me to get around but I would definitely be down to see how people raise and care for these creatures. I'll add you as a friend right now and later we can set that up.

 

[aNisip]

I'm in Hollywood. And yeah I didn't know that. Can you suggest where I'd be able to find them ?

Most of the species can be found in overgrown areas and woody areas that, for the most part, haven't been touched by humans (like all natural areas)...I'm these areas you are most likely to find Stagmomantis carolina and Stagmomantis floridensis ....however, in the more swampy/woody areas you can find Gonatista grisea on lichen covered trees (usually oak)...

Also I just had an ooth hatch of Hierodula majuscula (Giant Rainforest Mantis) ....if your interested in a bunch of nymphs, let me know and we should be able to set something up

All the best,

Andrew

 

[mantid_mike]

My cousin lives in Orlando. He said there's so many swampy areas near him.

Do you think he can find gonatista grisea there??

 

[aNisip]

My cousin lives in Orlando. He said there's so many swampy areas near him. Do you think he can find gonatista grisea there??

Most likely....just gotta look in the right spots...

 

[thalassarche]

Welcome! I'm very new to the hobby myself but I had to say that your username made me chuckle.

 

[Mantis Man13]

You can find these mantises at Mantis Place, Mantis Pets, and USA mantis. I recommend Usa mantis and Mantis pets. Mantis Place is waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too expensive! Welcome Scruffy!

 

[ladygigi]

Welcome to Mantid Forum!

 

[hibiscusmile]

Welcome, hope we learn from each other!