Legal Release in South Florida

[Rick]

None of them should be released. Mantids as effective pest control is debatable as well.

 

[Chivalry]

dont chinese mantids mismolt often?

btw where can i get some nymphs?

They do mismolt often but there are so many that you end up with a decent population. I have some nymphs but if you want garden mantids I'd recommend putting an ooth outside (I got mine from gardensalive.com I think). I've seen Chinese, European & Carolina ooths available on eBay (caveat emptor) and I'm pretty sure any of those would be ok. Rebecca has some of those too I believe (mantisplace.com).

As far as their pest control effectiveness, they were great for keeping the grasshoppers down but not so much for the cuke beetles and squash bugs I was hoping they'd control. But having them around is so cool that I don't care. Btw they seem to love herb plants for laying, at least T sinensis.

 

[brancsikia339]

wow

you guys are fast!

thank you for the answers!

now i know not to release unicorns or arizonas in my garden but what about the mediterranian mantis?

Since you're in florida, you can release: Gonatista grisea, Little Yucatan mantis, Brunneria borealis, Stagmomantis floridensis, Stagmomantis carolina, Oligonicella scudderi, Thesprotia graminis, but not Tenodera. They're not found in Florida.

 

[Ntsees]

2 of them except for maybe the Texas Unicorn mantid are native/naturalized in the West. Like what others say, they shouldn't be released in Florida. I would like to say that the limbatas are the Stagmomantis of the West and the carolinas/floridensis are the Stagmomantis of the East. Let's keep them in their natural geographic regions.

 

[CoolMantid]

Dont release any.

 

[mykey14]

alright

im just gonna get a chinese nymph so i can study it, then im gonna get an othecca (did i spell that right?) and plant it between some vegetables.

the chinese mantis is a mantis that i am 100% sure you can release anywhere, but i was trying to aviod it because of the mismolts and it being a generic species.

i wanted something that looked a bit more colorful and that was easier to raise with less mismolts.

what causes a chinese to mismolt????

 

[brancsikia339]

the chinese mantis is a mantis that i am 100% sure you can release anywhere

Please don't release chinese mantids in florida. They're not currently found there and florida only has native small mantids. If you release the largest known mantis in the US in a place where there are only smaller mantids, not only could florida loose some current mantids, it could also loose other smaller animals not used to this predator, such as anoles. Only because adults breed like wildfire and have and insatiable appetite

 

[CoolMantid]

No mantises are really prone to mismolts. They just happen

 

[mykey14]

ARGH

one person tells me its ok!

another tells me not to release!

is there a list or somethin by the usda that i can read to see all of the native species?

 

[mykey14]

Please don't release chinese mantids in florida. They're not currently found there and florida only has native small mantids. If you release the largest known mantis in the US in a place where there are only smaller mantids, not only could florida loose some current mantids, it could also loose other smaller animals not used to this predator, such as anoles. Only because adults breed like wildfire and have and insatiable appetite

Why does everyone say that you can release them ANYWHERE in the US?

 

[lunarstorm]

Please don't release chinese mantids in florida. They're not currently found there and florida only has native small mantids.

I disagree and so does the University of Florida.

 

[brancsikia339]

I disagree and so does the University of Florida.

Why does everyone say that you can release them ANYWHERE in the US?

http://bugguide.net/node/view/10098/data This answers all the questions. Also, mantid species: http://bugguide.net/node/view/342391/tree

 

[brancsikia339]

http://bugguide.net/...view/10098/data This answers all the questions. Also, mantid species: http://bugguide.net/...iew/342391/tree

My mistake. Don't trust bugguide

 

[gripen]

if you read the fine print it says the info may be wrong or incomplete :whistling:

 

[brancsikia339]

if you read the fine print it says the info may be wrong or incomplete :whistling:

Yeah... Didn't notice that at first :sweatdrop:

 

[gripen]

Yeah... Didn't notice that at first :sweatdrop:

lol we all make mistakes. me more than most....

 

[brancsikia339]

lol we all make mistakes. me more than most....

I gotta learn to read the fine print

 

[gripen]

lol

 

[CoolMantid]

Its cool!

just dont release any if you are not sure. Even if one says yes still dont release

 

[brancsikia339]

It's just a matter of being careful with what you do with mantids, exotic or not!