most aggressive mantis?

[bravado]

Hello all,

Mantises are cornerstone ambush predators. In your opinion which species displays the most aggression? Have you known any to pursue prey?

Thanks.

 

[d17oug18]

the "Q" or "9" mantis, forget the species name, Miomantis paykulli are extremely aggressive but they are also small.

 

[psyconiko]

Orchid mantis.

S. viridis.Can literally fall on its prey,scarry.

 

[lunarstorm]

Orchid mantis. S. viridis.Can literally fall on its prey,scarry.

The Orchid mention for aggression surprised me, do you see adults running and chasing their prey down?!

I want to own an orchid someday (I own orchid flowers and I'm in awe of the orchid mantis pics and videos I've seen) but I've read other feedback that suggests orchids are "boring" about their hunting compared to others.

 

[gripen]

good old fashion chinese, some times the cricket doesn't hit the ground before it is being eaten.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Sorry, but the Female Budwings have all those beat, and yeah I've had them all. They would destroy any mantis/prey close to there size and eat the whole thing!

I'll have some L1-2 close to being up for grabs very soon. PM me if interested.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Yep, budwings are pretty fierce, and they don't care if their prey is a roach or a sibling. As for hunting prey, last week I held a medication vial to a flower mantid's feeding port. The mantis got tired of waiting for the fly to emerge and climbed into the vial and took the it there. Ive seen the same thing with bees, which make a loud buzzing noise to make sure that the mantis knows where to find it!

But at least mantids only attack moving prey, right? Wrong. I do not enjoy feeding ffs to individual mantids and encourage them ("yr brother's doing it already!") to take small HFs. Today, I dropped individual stunned HFs into the pots with Joe's tiny L2/3 Rhombodera sp. They were a fair bit smaller than the flies, and the flies were motionless, but still in many cases (8/12) they rushed at the motionless fly, grabbed it and started feeding. Go, nymphs!

 

[guapoalto049]

1st: Rhombodera stalii females

2nd: Budwing females

3rd: Tie between Creobroter species and Chinese

The most impressive thing I've seen a mantis do eating-wise was an adult female Creo gem killing and eating an adult lobster roach.

 

[kitkat39]

Budwings and Sphodromantis will run over to their prey. Sometimes even diving face first at them. Deroplatys Dessicata will speed walk quite a ways to attack theirs, but it doesn't look as menacing as the previous two. This is BIG prey we're talking about here...

I've heard good things about Cilnia Humeralis, but I've never kept them myself so I can't really say...

 

[Psychobunny]

My little S. Lineola nymph (dont know his instar, about 1'' long) will chase down a cricket

all over the jar and nab it in the blink of an eye and wolfs it down.

If I toss in another little cricket before he is done with the first one, he will throw it

away and go after the other one!!

 

[Psychobunny]

Sorry, but the Female Budwings have all those beat, and yeah I've had them all. They would destroy any mantis/prey close to there size and eat the whole thing!

I'll have some L1-2 close to being up for grabs very soon. PM me if interested.

What about the male Budwings?

 

[bobericc]

Having raised rhombodera, and budwings the same time.. I think both are just about equal aggressors.. I think rhombodera is a bit more just because it stalks ground pray just as much as flying...

Feel like iris oratoria is a bit more aggressive than those two since I witnessed a tiny l3 male take a bb and pretty much suplex it before ripping it in half.. Likes to play with food..

Above those and my decision for most aggressive is hierodula though.. They attack pretty much any thing that wizzes by them too quick

 

[massaman]

well as far as aggression the rhombodera and the male popa spurca both are bad but the shields are far worse when trying to breed them. As the females have the temper that seems to linger on every attempt at breeding them and its hard to breed a mantis when they are in need of anger management.Trying to control them is easy but trying to calm them down for breeding so they wont take their simple frustrtations on their mates or on their owner!

 

[kitkat39]

What about the male Budwings?

Male Budwings are still really aggressive as nymphs. Once they become an adult, they turn into pansies for some reason.

 

[guapoalto049]

Deroplatys desiccata males are the most aggressive males I've kept. They go after adult roaches, locusts, field crickets, everything!

 

[ismart]

Cilnia humeralis are hands down the most aggresive species out there. Sorry but all the above don't even hold a candle to them! And i have kept most of the above!

 

[lancaster1313]

Cilnia humeralis are hands down the most aggresive species out there. Sorry but all the above don't even hold a candle to them! And i have kept most of the above!

I will have to add that to my want list. :lol:

 

[guapoalto049]

Yeah I've only been into exotics for a year or so, they haven't been abundant really. Bummer because they are tanks!

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Male Budwings are still really aggressive as nymphs. Once they become an adult, they turn into pansies for some reason.

That is because they have a far more important thing stuck in their tiny bug brains other than eating.