Saying goodbye

[Sticky]

How do you say goodbye to your favorite mantis? And what do you do after?

I am waiting for some wooden boxes to arrive that I bought online. They will be coffins for my mantids I loved the most. The list includes Sticky, Sweetheart and

Honey. I will decorate them with a picture and put the mantids name on it. I will paint each one a different color.

 

[jrh3]

Flush them down the toilet or put in trash, it is a insect no soul. It will be replaced by another when the next ooth hatches.

 

[twolfe]

After doing this for two years, it's still hard for me to say good-bye to my favorites. Yesterday I had to say good-bye to the last of my original Rhombodera cf. stalii. I had to put her in the freezer. She was close to a year old as I got her as an L4 in November 2011. I gave her total freedom the last month of her life, and it was always fun to find her in the morning. She was large so it wasn't too difficult.

Usually I say a few words to mine and then either put them in the compost pile or bury them.

 

[Paradoxica]

I've buried a few in a potted plant on my balcony. It's interesting to think about the conservation of energy (energy is neither created or destroyed, it can only change forms). All of the chemical energy that was the mantis is being recycled and used to sustain other lifeforms.

 

[Zoe]

Flush them down the toilet or put in trash, it is a insect no soul. It will be replaced by another when the next ooth hatches.

Whoa there buddy. I see where you're coming from, but this is obviously an emotional subject for OP. You didn't have to add the soul bit.

 

[Sticky]

I cant believe that they don't have a soul. My old mantis Sticky sure had personality and a soul! I spent 2 months feeding him milk, honey and bee pollen. And the others definitely feel something and feel enjoyment. Martha loves to ride outside on my hat. I hate it that summer is over. No more playtime outside

They certainly deserve better than to be treated like trash.

Robin.

 

[Ruaumoko]

I always put my adult dead in the freezer to make sure there gone for good. This and to make sure the rubbish bag doesn't start moving due to zombie mantis in the middle of the night lol

 

[agent A]

if adult and good quality, freezer

if not, garbage (if infected) or isopod/roach culture or tweezer fed (if freshly dead) to axolotl or toad

 

[Golden State Vivs]

While I don't name most of my frogs, I certainly don't "flush them or throw them in the trash." I don't believe in "souls" but I do believe that the deceased have an energy that should be recycled into the Earth. I bury all of my deceased animals in my compost bin, so that their energy is not wasted.

jrh3 is obviously trolling you.

 

[lancaster1313]

I usually bury mine. When I had a lizard, I fed some dying mantids to her. I don't like the idea of throwing them away. There are a few in the freezer that I wanted to preserve, but I will probably bury them as well.

I guess I don't have it in me to pose and dry them.

 

[Mime454]

I normally put mine in the garden for the local ants. Ants are my favorite insects after mantids. Such hard workers and very intuitive!

 

[kotomi]

I think people often underestimate insects... I believe they can learn, and I know that mantises the same species, age, size, and gender can have completely different "personalities", even if they are siblings. No one can ever really know who or what has a "soul", or even if such a thing exists. I just try to respect my insects (and all living things, for that matter) both in life and death. I'd rather return mine to the earth outside than toss them in the trash. I'm always sad when one goes, but unfortunately its just part of their life cycle and something that comes with the hobby. I take lots of photos of them while they are around, so I'll always be able to remember the little guys who were a part of my life

 

[bobericc]

Flush them down the toilet or put in trash, it is a insect no soul. It will be replaced by another when the next ooth hatches.

LOL

god maybe looking at you from the heavens, as tiny as you are, thinking the same thing, about you..

 

[sinensispsyched]

I put my first male chinese in a jewlry box lined with cotton balls. Then, I put a silk flower underneath him. Then, on the lid, I drew his face and put a few word on there.

 

[brancsikia339]

I don;t care if mantids are just insects. They are very special to me and their personalities show. They defintiely have a soul and I would never dare think about throwing mine in the trash. I usually bury mine either in nothing or in my own little wooden box that i fill with salt so they are preserved.

 

[agent A]

I don;t care if mantids are just insects. They are very special to me and their personalities show. They defintiely have a soul and I would never dare think about throwing mine in the trash. I usually bury mine either in nothing or in my own little wooden box that i fill with salt so they are preserved.

i made a paper pyramid and mummified an egyptian mantis once

 

[sinensispsyched]

I was going to do that to my chinese mantis!

 

[Precarious]

I cant believe that they don't have a soul.

They do have souls. Not quite like human souls, but more of a group soul - a species soul. Individuation, to use the esoteric term, is a processes unique to humans. But that doesn't make mantid lives any less meaningful. You can tell who is empathetic and/or spiritual here by their responses. Some humans choose to be soulless and see other animals merely for their inherent material value. I don't relate to them very well.

I sometimes bury mine in the garden or sometimes just lay them in a flowerbed. I think both are respectful enough and allow their bodies to be recycled.

 

[kotomi]

You can tell who is empathetic and/or spiritual here by their responses. Some humans choose to be soulless and see other animals merely for their inherent material value. I don't relate to them very well.

Well said. I'm with you on that one...

One of my favorite quotes is "You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him."

I try to treat my mantises (and my other critters) the way that I would like to be treated myself, with love and respect.