Howdy from Florida :D

[ezeleolos]

Hey guys,

I'm Cary, and I'm so happy I found this forum!

I have a passion for taking care of mantids, and I have been growing them for a few years now.  Along with dragonflies, they are easily the most fascinating insect to interact with   (especially after seeing a mantis fly!).  I've grown Chinese, S. Carolina, ghosts, spiny, and giant African mantids.  I started with the classic Chinese oootheca and learned a lot about cannibalism, and more importantly their place in nature.  After the first cycle of Chinese passed, I had a lot of luck with S. Carolina mantids in which about five adults almost made it through a full year and produced many fertilized ootheca for next year. 

Learning all about mantids really inspired me to teach children about the ecosystem, and the critters that are often disregarded due to being small and unfamiliar.  Even though it was really dangerous transporting the mantids to the schools and back, it was easily worth the struggle to see children light up with wonder and perhaps show a little more respect to insects/animals in the future.  I'd even introduce crazy thoughts into their heads such as "mosquitoes are an important part in the food chain, if we take them out then everything wonderful such as these mantids wouldn't get a chance to live.  They are the plankton of the swamp here, after all "  It is my goal to educate and provide mantids for the neighborhood kids and families. I have yet to meet a person that I introduced them to that found them boring. They are the perfect house pets, and I really enjoy having them inside wandering the house slaying "pests", or just hanging out from random locations up near the ceiling.  I swap them outside every few days to a mesh enclosure, but inside I always let them roam around!  

I'm currently waiting for the S. Carolina ootheca to hatch while still taking care of springtails and roaches separately (oh how much i've spent in the past on feeders >&lt.  It would be awesome to take care of a devil's flower mantis...I think i'm ready for the challenge! Once again, it's wonderful to find these forum finally.  I'll leave ya'll with some pictures.

 

[Connor]

Welcome to the forum! You got some beautiful mantis there. That's awesome that you're teaching the little kiddos about bugs and nature. You should think about getting some Idolos. They are amazing 

 

[Ocelotbren]

Welcome!  I would be scared of losing or accidentally squishing them if I let them roam the house!  I'm already extremely tentative when opening the bathroom door after giving one some free range time in there haha.

 

[Serle]

Hello and Welcome Cary................... S

 

[Rick]

Welcome

 

[hibiscusmile]

Welcome what is the last one eating?

 

[ezeleolos]

Thanks for the warm welcome y'all!  

Connor: I'm glad that you think that. It's a very small section of the book out of fourth grade, but the kids remembered me as the bug guy all year   I can't wait to try out Idolos!

Ocelotbren:  You are wise to be cautious about letting them roam.  They can eventually get into places where you cannot in the ceiling if you let them explore for too many days. Though, they will make their way back to you if you have conditioned them to receive food from you at a certain location in the house.  I once left Proxy (the mantis in the second pic) in the house for three weeks while visiting Spain.  Not only was she alive when I returned, she was patiently waiting at her spot for food. I've had less luck trying this with the males, as they are programmed to find the females and will try to search more. The only mantids i've lost in the house were males.  Females just like being fat, happy, and make ootheca all day long in the house. They seem to be the most attracted to bird feathers like peacocks which are ideal locations to craft ootheca. 

However, I totally recommend trying it still unless you have a cat that loves to hunt things. I have a dog but she is old enough to not care and the mantids know to avoid the ground already. Mantids are slow and calculating when it comes to exploring unfamiliar areas...not really random at all. The easiest way to get them to stay put is to give them what they want...a bromeliad or lucky bamboo!  Put the small potted plant on the middle of a big table (dining table in middle of the room is best).  Also, at first, you want to make sure the table is getting some sun from a window, and in the center of the room so that if the mantis does decide to climb down the chairs, you will find it before it gets on a wall or climbs other furniture.

They are very attracted to the light of day coming from windows, and they will most likely head over to a window or sliding glass door to hang out after becoming bored of the usual location (blinds are troublesome but just be careful because they love to climb on them). However, this seems to happen less when they are young and more dependent on you.

Take one of the mantids that seems to trust you the most and introduce them to the plant.  They will climb and find a spot to hangout upside down. Make sure that you are releasing them in the middle of the daytime because they are nocturnal creatures.  They will rest and be less active during the day (in general).  After a few hours, return the mantis to it's normal enclosure and repeat this process every day at the same time for longer and longer duration.  After the first day, make sure to feed them a meal while they are on the plant.  The food doesn't have to be alive,  and you can just feed them clove honey on a Popsicle stick. I've grown mantids to full size just on clover honey and watering the plant with a mister, though it's not as balanced as flies and whatnot. 

I'm going out on a limb here, but I believe that they eventually figure out that the plant provides them with a delicacy that the other enclosure does not...sugar and honey!  It becomes a new home for them to the point that you can sit down with your family, and have food while watching them hang out.  They are so amazing at hanging out that I eventually had about four wandering the house in separate areas (important not to have more than one in a given area for obvious reasons).  Almost all of the house guests that visited had no idea they were even there until I'd mention that they are right in front of them in plain sight!  They are easily the best pets a family could own, and great for kids because they don't last more than a year unlike that puppy they get over taking care of after the first year.  After awhile my favorite mantids would "knock" on the top of the mesh enclosure when they wanted out of confinement even if it was outside.  They love the freedom to explore and listen to what happens in the house  I could write more specifics if you want to hear more, but for now i bet that's enough   Try it!

Hibiscusmile:  It's an evil horsefly that I swatted with my sandal (/flex).   It looks like a few T-bone steaks to them, and she took the horsefly even though it was dead.  She wouldn't eat for almost a full week after!

Ah, it's good to be here and talking about Mantids

 

[Ocelotbren]

Great explanation, @ezeleolos.  I remember reading about people letting their mantids live free range in their house and being fascinated by it.  I also do remember reading that females are better since the males tend to wander off, which makes sense.  At the time, I only had a male, so his free range time consisted of an afternoon in the bathroom with the door closed, since it is a small space where I can't lose him, and does get afternoon sun through the window.  He seemed to enjoy it.

I'm still interested in the idea of trying completely free range with a female, and out of sheer coincidence, I received an adult female Chinese mantis from a friend yesterday.  She knew I'd be interested in taking any that she finds, and my first and only female Chinese died in her molt to adulthood so I am super excited to get to experience an adult female this time!  Not sure how hard it will be to get her to stick around when free range given that she is wild, but I am interested to try once she settles in and I see her personality.

Thanks again for the tips, and nice pictures by the way!

 

[Aristalochia]

Hi ezeleolos, welcome. I liked your ideas and nice pictures. It's nice to be able to let our pets roam, eh? I used to have a pink toe tarantula that wandered my home. It was cool, he'd be spotted every few days crawling across the walls. I also happen to have a little scorpion roaming my bedroom, 

 

[Ocelotbren]

Hi ezeleolos, welcome. I liked your ideas and nice pictures. It's nice to be able to let our pets roam, eh? I used to have a pink toe tarantula that wandered my home. It was cool, he'd be spotted every few days crawling across the walls. I also happen to have a little scorpion roaming my bedroom, 

Oh my, I think I know some people that would refuse to enter my home if I told them there was a tarantula loose in the house!