How do you feel about your mantis(es)?

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bobericc said:
I'm attached to all my mantids even if they didn't get the attention they deserved. There is something very pure under the mantids menacing mentality. The best way to explain is solely by experience. Holding an older nymph for the first time is a good example. At first ill grab the nymph from the net or deli with no hesitation and more then likely Ill frighten it to the point it plays dead or runs. Then while holding it, and talking to it, the mantid will look at you right in your eyes, sometimes defensive with antennae straight toward you. It may jump back at your slightest moves lol but with a smile and a wave, talking to it, when it notices your not a threat, it shows personality. I've found They are curious and playful predators. Science might tell us they are only trying to climb higher or find prey. But I don't always agree with science, as its always revised and rerevised lol. I believe in understanding. I think we dont give mantids enough credit for their trustworthiness and understanding with people. I can rub my rhombos pink belly and it won't look down and pinch me, this has got to be some form of understanding. I can get chaeta excited to the point its stumbling over itself to climb to me.

There's personal experiences we all share with mantids where unless you keep them in a cage all day while they just look at you and wonder what you are, you will never even have a chance to bond with something that mightve showed you who that mantis is. Lol

But when they die I don't get too sad, I get sad when I see a genus fall out of culture..
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I absolutely agree :) that's a great way to put it.

 
I worry about their health and want to do my best to keep them healthy and happy. That being said I don't really get attached to inverts the same way I do to my dogs for example. I used to keep tarantulas and once they reached adulthood I would send/sell them to breeders to keep the hobby going. I never bred tarantulas but I'm going to try with some mantids.

 
HungryGhost said:
I worry about their health and want to do my best to keep them healthy and happy. That being said I don't really get attached to inverts the same way I do to my dogs for example. I used to keep tarantulas and once they reached adulthood I would send/sell them to breeders to keep the hobby going. I never bred tarantulas but I'm going to try with some mantids.
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I'm pretty much the same way, except I plan on keeping my tarantulas throughout their lives.

However, it's really interesting how mantids seem to be so trusting of people. That doesn't really make a lot of sense to me, seeing as they're prey to some larger animals in the wild and stuff like that. Does anyone have a good explanation for why this may be?

 
I get attached to the helpless to, the others don't need me and I don't have time to baby them, but the ones u have to care for 1 on 1, well they mean more. Still hard to put them in freezer, I always, say.... well maybe one more day....

 
I don't really feel attached to them either. I'm all good until I have one mantis left. When that last one dies, I don't get really sad. I'm more like

"Damn! Now I have to wait until next summer to see another mantis..."

The mantis hobby just suddenly stopped and makes me feel a little empty for some days.

Says the guy who doesn't keep equatorial species that could last all year, of course.

I would probably get more attached to those mantis that can last 1, 2 or more years. But if they died, I would probably feel just a little bummed out.

I don't actually feel that attached to any animal to the point of mourning its death like if a real person died. That creeps me out, honestly.

Boosh96 said:
but frankly I wouldn't be devastated like if something happened to my snakes. My mom is okay with me having mantises, but she gave me a funny look when I was holding my ghost last night while I rearranged its setup.
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You're saying that you mother doesn't give you a funny look when you're holding your snakes? In my case it would definitely be the other way around.

 
I get somewhat attached to them, giving them names and holding them as such, but I'm not devastated when they die or anything. Especially if it's of old age. It's sad for a few minutes, but I've had so many that I get over it pretty fast. They are my little buddies though (but I obviously love my doggy a lot more). :)

 
Stockings! I never thought of that! Do you sing carols to your mantids? I sang Happy Birthday to Patty the day before she died. I think I will sing to mine later.

 
First of all, Digger we are grandparents by about 150! Second, if possible I would love to grab a cup of coffee depending On when you travel through if you had time! I always put mine under my hoodie and make sure my car is warm.

As for the topic of this thread... I love them every bit as much as my parrots and cats.... I understand they have a short life span but they give me so much joy on a day to day basis. It rips me apart to lose one I have raised and had for its adult life... Caring for so many nymphs I still do my best for them. Having suffered a huge loss and being no stranger to pain I will endure every loss and love and care for every mantis I own as is their due right as a living creature. I cannot explain the fascination and love I have for these little guys and gals.. But you know what? I don't have too! Same way I don't have to explain to anyone about my love for animals in general.

My Babyird(yellow nape amazon) has been with me since I was 18 and she was just weaned. I have accrued many more in my "family" due to others throwing them away and I'm the better person for it.

Bottom line, I love ALL of my kids, feathered..furred..scaled and exoskeleton'd just as much as I can while they are here with me.

I apologize if I seem crazy to everyone but my animals are my life now and I'm more than ok with that, especially since the one person who would have tolerated them all and loved them too is gone now. I will be that crazy cat, bird and insect lady that lives alone ^.^

 
Guess I am somewhere in the middle here. I definitely get attached to them but maybe not as much as some other people. I am amazed at how much personality and intelligence they have. I definitely felt way more attached to the male and female I caught and raised from young nymphs this summer than to some of the wild and crazy males and females I caught as adults. Those two were like a couple :p I remember the male would always climb on top of the females enclosure when I would clean his house and check her out. I do get sad when they die but my g/f cries everytime, which in turn makes me cry. I am not really a "bug" person but I have always been fascinated by mantises so they have a special place in my heart among predatory insects :)

 
Sticky said:
Stockings! I never thought of that! Do you sing carols to your mantids? I sang Happy Birthday to Patty the day before she died. I think I will sing to mine later.
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I sing to mine all the time. My dog cringes everytime I take to song, but the mantises hold firm. :stuart:

 
Krissim Klaw said:
I sing to mine all the time. My dog cringes everytime I take to song, but the mantises hold firm. :stuart:
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Maybe because they can't listen?

Mantids can only hear bat ultrasounds. Not sure if all species do though. They are virtually deaf for any other sound frequency.

 
Where's the science behind them only being able to hear ultrasounds from bats , I mean I know they can but where is the research behind that being the only sound they can hear?

 

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