HighlyFocused
New member
Hello! Thank you for adding me to the group! My name is Melissa, and my sons (7 and 9 years old) and I began our mantis journey when they found 2 staple-sized mantids on our porch in mid-July of this year. We named them Zorak, and Atlantis the Mantis. I figured they would live for a few days and die like most other insects, but I was really surprised to learn that it is relatively easy to keep them alive for their natural lives! We very quickly became fascinated with capturing food for them, feeding them, and letting them crawl on us. I love how they just sit and look at you, tilting their heads from side to side, trying to figure you out.
At the end of July, my youngest son found an adult female European mantis. Her name is Scyther, and she is a vicious killer but a very docile pet.
In mid-August, we found a male Chinese mantis on our back door. His name is Soul Eater because he only eats the hearts of his prey and discards the rest of the carcass, still twitching on the bottom of his tank.
Shortly after our Carolina mantids finished their final molt on 8/31, several other males landed on our porch. We have added Pansy and Flippo to our collection. Pansy is scared of his food no matter how small, and Flippo does backflips when he freaks out about his prey. Not sure how either of these mantids survived to adulthood in the wild being scared of their food. They are a very different temperament than the two we have hand-raised from babies. Maybe they just don't like being enclosed with their prey??
It is becoming difficult to find food for these 6 mantids since the weather is getting cooler. We tried mealworms and crickets, but since those don't crawl to the top of the enclosures where the mantids prefer to hang out, they don't get eaten. I have ordered some curly winged flies in hopes that I can keep these mantids alive into the winter. I've really grown attached to them, and I'm going to miss them when they're gone. I'm preparing to encase them in resin molds when the time comes. Any advice on how to do so is greatly appreciated!
Hoping to unite with some other mantis fanatics so I can feel a little more normal about being the weirdo neighbor lady that is always tapping on her porch light late at night for mantis food. ?
At the end of July, my youngest son found an adult female European mantis. Her name is Scyther, and she is a vicious killer but a very docile pet.
In mid-August, we found a male Chinese mantis on our back door. His name is Soul Eater because he only eats the hearts of his prey and discards the rest of the carcass, still twitching on the bottom of his tank.
Shortly after our Carolina mantids finished their final molt on 8/31, several other males landed on our porch. We have added Pansy and Flippo to our collection. Pansy is scared of his food no matter how small, and Flippo does backflips when he freaks out about his prey. Not sure how either of these mantids survived to adulthood in the wild being scared of their food. They are a very different temperament than the two we have hand-raised from babies. Maybe they just don't like being enclosed with their prey??
It is becoming difficult to find food for these 6 mantids since the weather is getting cooler. We tried mealworms and crickets, but since those don't crawl to the top of the enclosures where the mantids prefer to hang out, they don't get eaten. I have ordered some curly winged flies in hopes that I can keep these mantids alive into the winter. I've really grown attached to them, and I'm going to miss them when they're gone. I'm preparing to encase them in resin molds when the time comes. Any advice on how to do so is greatly appreciated!
Hoping to unite with some other mantis fanatics so I can feel a little more normal about being the weirdo neighbor lady that is always tapping on her porch light late at night for mantis food. ?
