What kind of mantis do I have?

[Thorngren]

So, if you read my introduction thread you'll know that (so far) all the mantids I've ever seen in person have been from one area. I'm from Napa, CA and work in American Canyon, CA. I've found them all at or near my work. I've kept a few as pets and am just wondering what type they are. They range in color from tan, brown, dark tan, light green and bright green. I've seen females up to about 4 inches (normally 3) and the males seem to be around 2 or so inches. The one thing I noticed they all had were these black markings on the inside of their front claw arms with a white spot inside the black. One time a mantid got mad and puffed out his wings and arms making the spots look like eyes to a big ugly face. I notice the males are much more jumpy/easy to startle than the females and the males seem to fly quite a bit, even having seen one once fly a good thirty yards away and about 5 yards high in the air.. I only ever saw a female fly once, and that was because it had fallened from climbing high. Are these traits of all male/female mantids, or just the type living near me? Also, if you know what type of mantis these guys are, I would totally love it if you pased down more info on them and how to care for them, as I have a skittish mantis named Dexter whom I want to give the best care possible for and want to learn all I can about whatever breed he is..

 

[hierodula]

You have a european mantis, they are very common.

 

[Thorngren]

Thanks for the super fast reply. Now I can read up on em more.

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being best, 1 being worst), where would you place the European Mantis as for keeping as a pet and friendlyness towards people compared to other mantid species? Just curious as these are the only type I've ever seen and I know there are many more species out there

 

[hibiscusmile]

the religiosa is not as friendly as the others, chinese are ok if you raise them, but most wild are skittish, the longer mantis are probably chinese, google them or even ck out some photo threads while searching, I have a pic of one in the Bugatorium post too.

 

[agent A]

europeans r real delicate at L1

 

[hierodula]

europeans r real delicate at L1

+1 I have had about half my hatchees drop dead after a week or two.

 

[agent A]

+1 I have had about half my hatchees drop dead after a week or two.

i had 100% even with HOURLY MISTING!!

 

[Thorngren]

the religiosa is not as friendly as the others, chinese are ok if you raise them, but most wild are skittish, the longer mantis are probably chinese, google them or even ck out some photo threads while searching, I have a pic of one in the Bugatorium post too.

Whats a religiosa? Is that the European Mantis I have, or something else? Are you a fan of the chinese mantis?

I gotta say, my old Mantis was way more friendly than the one I have now, but I'm sure he'll warm up to me after a few more days. I just caught him yesterday.

 

[Thorngren]

Also, why does he only hang upside down? I got a bunch of tall sticks that branch off for him to climb on and around in his terrarium, but all he does is hang from the top of his terrarium.

 

[Paradoxica]

Religiosa is the scientific name of the European mantis.

Most species spend almost all their time hanging upside down from the highest point.

 

[Ntsees]

Whats a religiosa?

Like what the above post says, the scientific name for the European mantid is Mantis religiosa. We say religiosa to make it short. We understand what species someone is referring to when that name is used.

 

[MandellaMandy123]

I have two M. religiosas and they're not as friendly as some others, but they're fine. In Napa you could probably find Iris oratoria, Tenodera Sinensis, and probably Stagmomantis limbata or Californica. You can check out my albums up here to see photos of I. Oratoria and S. Limbata

 

[Thorngren]

Religiosa is the scientific name of the European mantis.

Most species spend almost all their time hanging upside down from the highest point.

Yeah, sure. I've had a few other mantids before and they liked to hang upside down a lot too. But this one seems to only hang upside down when in his terrarium. I've yet to see him leave the top of his terrarium even once, except for when I've let him out to roam free in the house. He likes exploring and flying from coffee table to desk to kitchen counter all the way back to his cage.... though it sure is a pain when he decides he's gonna fly to the wall and climb up to the ceiling. If he were a bird, most owners woulda clipped his wings by now. lol