How to catch a Wile Mantis

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dr walkrr

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Hey All,

So I have seen a lot of posts regarding people out mantis hunting in the wild. I am a newbie and I live in Arizona, I was hoping to get some advice on where I should be looking to find these elusive wild mantids (I know they are really not that hard to find). This thread can also be for other areas or just stories about good mantis hunting.

 
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In the city, they like to stay on brick or block buildings, it is warmer there, in fields or grassy yards they like the foliage, and I have always found mine on top of it, but others will find them elsewhere.
 
In most places weedy meadows, overgrown fence lines and ditches. Basically weedy areas with lots of feeder insects. If you step into a weedy area and you see tons of grasshoppers fleeing, you know that is a good place. Then you gotta have the 'eye' to see them. Things are probably different out there though.

Here are some of my old threads with tons of pics. There are good pics of the habitats that contain lots of mantids. Your areas will likely be different though:

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15655

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15561

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15727

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=11783

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15886

 
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Wow Rick, you have some great spots, and eyes. Do you often get stung and bitten when in the brush? :eek: I am often fearful of going too deep, and only stick to the edges of heavy foliage. I don't find many mantids that way.

 
likebugs said:
Wow Rick, you have some great spots, and eyes. Do you often get stung and bitten when in the brush? :eek: I am often fearful of going too deep, and only stick to the edges of heavy foliage. I don't find many mantids that way.
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Nah, not really. I was stung by a wasp last year. I also muck around in swamps with a camera looking for reptiles. All I get doing that is muddy and smelly. :lol:

 
I see Chinese Mantids in late summer (I live in Missouri) at night at the top of street lights catching moths. There is always one per street light. Good luck trying to get them down from there though. I got lucky and caught one that came down last year. Chinese Mantids are huge. I got 3 of them now (still juveniles) because I found an ootheca on a bush. I let most of them go and kept a few when they hatched. If you can't catch one in the wild look for an eggcase(usually if not always on a bush).

 
dr walkrr, Arizona is a great place for finding mantis. Besides a pair of keen eyes and luck, timing and knowing the mantis habitat help.

Late Summer is the best time as mantis are more visible and active especially on a hot and muggy day. Ground mantis are easy to find on the barren hill slope with loose gravel and rocks, especially when the sun was low in the sky - more shadows. Mesquite tree is popular host for Stagmomantis sp. I saw plenty of egg cases on my recent trip. Even Arizona unicorn mantis been spotted laying ootheca on this type of tree. Buggy area with knee high grasses are prime location for Yersiniops mantis, a butterfly net would definitely help, but separating the Yersiniops from grasshopper is not easy task.

 
Does anybody know where Gonatista grisea lay ooths? I found one last year. I know they are around. I think they know I'm looking :(

 
Chief Tom said:
I see Chinese Mantids in late summer (I live in Missouri) at night at the top of street lights catching moths. There is always one per street light. Good luck trying to get them down from there though. I got lucky and caught one that came down last year. Chinese Mantids are huge. I got 3 of them now (still juveniles) because I found an ootheca on a bush. I let most of them go and kept a few when they hatched. If you can't catch one in the wild look for an eggcase(usually if not always on a bush).
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I would regularly see the Chinese males late summer in Jefferson City, MO. Often at my front port light. I never could find any ooths though. Really bummed me out. Got excited finding an ooth in a bush near Kansas City visiting my sister but it had already hatched. :( Guess I'm not meanth to find ooths in the wild!

 
Hey Mikey, Love KC! It's my favorite city in the whole WORLD! Anyway man, when autumn begins just keep looking in the bushes and you will most likely see one eventually (after some time, you have to look for a little while). And if you do see one just leave it there until right before Spring. Then just cut off that portion of the bush and keep it until it hatches. That's what I do. Good Luck Missouri Friend!

 
Oh, I'm having so much fun watching Rick's pictures. :D

Unfortunately there are no wild mantids here, so I'll just have to keep hunting them in my dreams (actually seen quite a few of these :rolleyes: ). Or maybe let some loose and then run around after them.

 
I plan on going to look for Stagmomantis carolina this week. I found a place that looks just like some of Rick's pics, with the big row of powerlines and all. This is in the same park that I found my male carolina nymph. Is there a certain level that I am most likely to spot this species, eye level, chest level, or so on. I don't think that my eye is as good as Rick's, :unsure: so I would like to better my chances. :lol:

 
likebugs said:
I plan on going to look for Stagmomantis carolina this week. I found a place that looks just like some of Rick's pics, with the big row of powerlines and all. This is in the same park that I found my male carolina nymph. Is there a certain level that I am most likely to spot this species, eye level, chest level, or so on. I don't think that my eye is as good as Rick's, :unsure: so I would like to better my chances. :lol:
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There are some people who say certain species are found at certain levels of the vegetation but I disagree. I've found them from ground level up to 12'. This time of year most mantids are pretty small, so you may have trouble finding any. Best time is late summer and early fall. Being in FL though they are likely a bit bigger than in other areas.

 
Thanks Rick, the St. carolina male that I found looks like subadult now, but I have been feeding him well. I hope I can find more, so I can see the difference beetween captive and wild mantid size. It has been very hot here lately. I really meant to go "hunting" sooner, I keep putting it off. :lol:

 
I have gone looking a few times, in the place where I found the St. carolina male. Also in a couple of other good looking spots. There are many different kinds of insects and spiders, but I found no mantids. :( My St. carolina became adult on July 1st.

 
I've only found two in California my whole life, but I wasn't exactly looking for them.

One in Riverside and the other in Simi Valley.

I guess where there is one, there has to be some more!

Never have I seen anything like Matids all over like in Ricks field hunt post. That's really cool to find so many in one outing.

 
The only way I have ever found them is by accident. It looks like that is the only way I will. :lol: Maybe I will go to some overgrown place and look for "just any critters", that is how I found the mantid that I have.

 

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