hello & need mantis help

[narnee78]

thursday we found an adult mantis on our sidewalk. 2 things we noticed about this mantis… it’s back 4 legs were folded up underneath it, frozen, without use/movement. it’s wings were fully displayed. it was trying to drag itself along with it’s ‘elbows’. we brought it inside and have been trying to care for it, gently. i will attach a couple of photos for your review. we have propped it up in a container using a plastic straw to get it in a more ‘mantis’ type posture, also to assist with giving it water and food (crickets that i hold for it) and tiny amounts of organic honey. it’s eating power seems very weak, though it is interested and tries. when we first brought it in, it almost appeared as though it was having convulsions (of it’s front arms)… clear twitches at a frequent interval. since thursday, those actions have seemed to decrease in intensity and in frequency. i am noticing that today it’s mouth seems very ‘active’, however, it also seems to be ‘spitting up’ (clear) most of the water it drinks. i have all sorts of ideas as to why it might have been in this condition upon our discovery, but i’d be curious to your thoughts. i also would welcome any suggestions on how to possibly help it feel better. thanks y’all. (the photo collage shows photos from thursday. the single photo is a photo from friday). & i’ve gently assisted in getting those center wings to lay flat.

 

[ANTdrew]

Mantises only live a few months. It sounds like you found one very near the end of its life. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to help it.

 

[narnee78]

Mantises only live a few months. It sounds like you found one very near the end of its life. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to help it.

thanks for your response. i truly appreciate it. we are still caring for it and it is still eating and drinking. we had mantises six years ago, cared for 6 from hatch to death. we never had one to have paralyzed legs (the 4 back legs). toward the end of that interesting journey though we did care for one of the mantises for some time after a bad molt that was deformed and had to feed and hydrate it. i also had never seen the wings displayed ‘frozen’ in this way.

 

[Optimus]

Mantises only live a few months. It sounds like you found one very near the end of its life. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to help it.

Sad truth

 

[narnee78]

yes, ok, i had hoped it might have a bit more time. it is still with us today, but i believe it is now just barely hanging on. just about an hour ago it decided it did not want to ‘move it’s mouth’ any more for food, water or honey. seems to be shutting down. we gave it one extra week, i suppose. thanks y’all.

 

[narnee78]

well, mantis passed away some time last night. here is a photo from this morning. so, we gave it one additional week, as i believe if we had not ‘rescued it’ and fed/watered it, it would have died last thursday. we enjoyed having it visit with us, though ‘paralyzed’, we enjoyed the interaction and the curiosity of it all. it brought back fond memories of 2018 when we watched the development and transformation of 6 mantis in our care, from hatch until death in the fall. thanks again for your feedback, it helped me lessen my fretting. - susan