Where can i find a praying mantis

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boxer4ever

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I live in washington state in more of a dry place than others we have 2 apple trees 1 crabapple tree and a little garden(tomatoes and pepper plants with a sunflower plant) and in front yard we have a 20 ft decidous tree and about 6 bushes and some of them are flower bud bushes, just today i went down the road a little bit to a dirt area with some weeds and i see grass hoppers, now i was wondering if im getting to the right area because every day ive been searching in the bushes that dirt place and all i find is bluebottle and greenbottle flies, bees, grasshoppers, and white butterflies

 
but i only find the grass hoppers and little brown ones in that dirt area not around my house

 
Areas with lots of weeds are best. Overgrown fields, ditches, fencelines, etc. Get into these areas and if you see a lot of feeder insects such as grasshoppers you're in the right place. I have no idea what species are in your state though. It may be possible you have few to no mantids there. Also, it helps to have "the eye" to find them in their natural habitats.

 
oh i do and i think i know where to look now but its heck 1 mile away theres a church with bushes in front my brother said like 7 years ago he found one there and theres a field i dont thik its over grown its just a big field of greass

 
prayingmantis93 said:
oh i do and i think i know where to look now but its heck 1 mile away theres a church with bushes in front my brother said like 7 years ago he found one there and theres a field i dont thik its over grown its just a big field of greass
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i just went, they cut the grass short and nothing on the bushes but bees

 
I never understood why, by the laws of nature, mantids wouldn't just show up in numbers when ever there were pests growing out of control.

Nature dictates the predators should spawn like crazy during these infestations.

 
I know how you feel, i live in maryland and looked EVERYWHERE and couldnt find one! maybe its just my area? :mellow:

 
where in washington are you? pretty sure that washington doesnt have them west of the cascades, but i know there are butloads of them in eastern washington, in the sun lakes area, and probably anywhere in eastern washington jmo

 
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Forget the bushes. You need weedy, overgrown areas. Weeds that are high and full of feeders is your best bet.

 
Area with flowering plants and infested with Orthoptera and pollinating insects gives you a good chance looking for mantis.

surrounding3.jpg


 
XANTHOMAN said:
where in washington are you? pretty sure that washington doesnt have them west of the cascades, but i know there are butloads of them in eastern washington, in the sun lakes area, and probably anywhere in eastern washington jmo
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im in eastern part and theres nothing in this town im in maybe they are more in the farm lands

 
prayingmantis93 said:
there r bees tho
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LOL, there r pacific diamondback rattlesnakes, and you are worried about the bees? specifically what part of the state are you in? i dont know about the southern 1/2 of eastern wa, but i know they are pretty widespread and easy to find from the central portion and northward.

my buddy just called from omak yesterday and said he found some without even looking. they are almost impossible not to find in the sun lakes area. i have seen them before around chelan, the methow, and conconully, also, spectacle lake. i have another buddy that lives in spokane and he says they are everywhere around there.

and, i know they are in eastern oregon too, so, imo, its reasonable to assume that they are also in the southern 1/2 of eastern wa.

like the ep said, try ditches and fence lines, and grassy areas along creeks and shorelines. also, look under boards, plywood, pieces of tin , downed tree limbs etc. ask some orchard owners, i bet they can tell you where some are.

it would probably be a good idea to carry a long stick and wear boots and baggy pants. if i were you, i would keep a close and alert eye out for rattlesnakes and wouldnt worry so much about the bees, probably be safer just to buy one. lol. jmo

 
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sorry, double post, my ultra crappy internet connection sometimes screws me up when editing. can sometimes take forever to see if my post/edit was successful.

 
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FWIW Xantho, even on the best days, this forum takes a few seconds to respond to my clicks.

And this forum is worth the wait. :)

 
I'm not trying to change topic on this as it is not mine but i didn't want to have to start a new topic, i live in maryland and even in the overgrown grass/weeds with loads of grass hopper flys and other feeders there are no praying mantises to be found. May i ask what kind there are in maryland?

 
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