serial killer mantis eats grasshopper

[ns22]

Hi, I am nine years old and this is my first post. I have been capturing, feeding, raising, studying and releasing mantises for about five years now. Today just before dinner I fed dinner to my mantis housed in a butterfly net. Dinner consisted of a grasshopper I caught in the backyard. First they stared at each other for about five minutes and I walked away so that they wouldn't be disturbed. When I came back, the mantis had its prey in its forearms and the grasshopper had bloody blotches all over its head. (This killed my dad's appetite.) It eventually ate the entire grasshopper except for its abdomen.

I will write about other exciting things in future.

 

[D_Hemptress]

hehe you're cute! i hope you work on getting some pictures do go with your stories in the future.

 

[ScienceGirl]

Welcome! I've enjoyed mantids and other insects every since I was little, too.

Insect "blood" is called hemolymph. Do you house your mantis in the butterfly net that you'd catch food with, or do you mean a net cage?

 

[Jinx]

I agree! Hopefully we can get some pictures in the future.

My daughter absolutely loves bugs, I hope she keeps an interest in them like you. None of my mantids seem to like hoppers, so I stick with flies and mealworms for now.

Welcome to the forums!

 

[Sticky]

Welcome from the state of Maine! Im looking forward to hearing about your mantis keeping!