My ghost mantises arrived!!

[Sageren]

These little guys sure are hard to photograph! They're my first mantises so unboxing them was extra exciting. I was surprised by how little they seem to mind being handled. I expected them to have more of an aversion to it, but they readily climb on my hand if I position it near their branches and they seem to enjoy exploring my fingers. What beautiful and interesting little creatures! I'm excited to watch them grow. Here are some poor quality phone pics  

 

[River Dane]

Aww, what adorable little buggers! Congratulations on your first order! Hope things go well for you.

—D.E.

 

[CosbyArt]

Congrats and great to see they arrived safely, and you happily let them explore.

It seems when mantids are young they are nearly fearless, and love to be out of their habitats (most will run out at feeding time too). Many Ghost nymphs I've had would roam around until they fell off clumsily or do a jump of faith off my hand occasionally - and one reason why I handle mantids over carpet, a blanket in my lap, or close to a table top to prevent fall injuries.

When older nearing adulthood if mantids are not handled very often many seem to be hesitant or flat-out refuse to be handled from then on, so handle them at least weekly to ensure they don't develop that behavior if you want to continue handling them.

I mention it as Ghost mantids in particular is one species that seems to switch handling behavior as/near adults more so than other species I've kept.

Oddly though native/naturalized mantid species in the wild even as adults freely roam all over me when I am out collecting in fields (but males will fly off after a briefly investigation) - but as pets those same species occasionally develop the anti-handling behavior too. I have to assume pet mantids develop a sense of safety only in their habitat if they are not handled, and a change to handling gives them a fear of the new surrounding that provokes the fight or flight behavior. Once they develop that anti-handling behavior it seems to be near impossible to "train" them to come out of their habitat and be handled.

 

[MantisGirl13]

I love ghost mantids! They are one of my favorite species!