How to Raise a Mantis

A charming insect found everywhere on earth, mantises are a great choice for pets. Even people who don’t like insects will enjoy the funny looks of mantises, as they can turn their heads over their shoulders to look at you (actually they are the only insects that can do this!) ^{[ 1] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 173, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5} Mantises come in many colors, such as pink that looks like a flower (maple mantis). orchid ( Hymenopus coronatus ) and white, although most of them are brown or green. The species of mantis you can keep will depend on where you live and their environment in the wild or pet store before you bring them home. Raising mantises is also quite simple and fun, and you can learn a lot about this unique and funny insect just by observing their daily behaviors.

Table of Contents

Find the mantis

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Find a mantis. Mantises live in many parts of the earth and were brought to the United States in the early 19th century and have since become living creatures in the wild. ^{[2] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 172, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5} If you know there are mantises in your area, you can think about catching them in wild environment. Mantises are usually about 7.5 cm long and are mostly brown or green, shaped like sticks or leaves, helping them to blend in with their surroundings.

Look in trees where insects such as crickets and butterflies live. They are the favorite food of mantises.
Look closely. This tiny insect is a master of camouflage. Most mantises have a slender green body, although some can be stout and have a gray or even pinkish tint. Some look like flowers, but most of these mantis species live in Africa and Asia. You should try to imagine what the mantis would look like when it masquerades as plant parts; That way the search will be easier.

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Select the box to hold the mantis. Find a small box to drop the mantis in once you’ve caught it. This box doesn’t have to be huge – 15 x 15 cm is enough for most mantis species. The mantis container should be well ventilated, preferably made of mesh or wire mesh so that the mantis and its prey have a place to cling. In addition, the box also needs to have a tight lid. Absolutely do not use the box that used to contain chemicals inside to trap the mantis.

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Catch the mantis. Usually you don’t need gloves, unless you’re afraid of touching insects. You just need to place the box in front of the mantis, using a stick or your hand to push it into the box if you don’t mind. Soon the mantis will voluntarily enter the box. Be sure to close the lid of the box, as mantises are intelligent animals, and they will seize every opportunity to escape.

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Buy mantis. If you can’t find a mantis where you live, you can go to a pet store and ask if they have a suitable mantis species for you. This will give you a wider selection of mantis varieties, depending on the laws of the country you live in regarding the importation of insects as pets.

If you buy mantises, they are usually sold as larvae. Each larva is contained in a small box. ^{[3] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 172, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5}

Make a house for the mantis

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Prepare a home for your mantises. Mantis needs a good living environment to be happy and healthy. Choose a suitable structure for the mantis, such as an eco-box. The structure should be large enough for a developing mantis if you buy it while it’s still in its larval stage and needs to be kept warm to around 24ºC and a few degrees lower at night. ^{[4] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 173, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5}

Provide the mantis with objects to climb. Mantises like to climb things like sticks, branches, small stakes, etc.
Decorate with trees, branches, and other objects found in nature that allow mantises to climb. Some people grow green plants in eco-boxes, because mantises like to perch on trees.
You can keep the mantis warm by using spotlights or heating pads. Talk to your supplier to see if they have a suitable product.

Feed the praying mantis

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Feed the mantis properly. Mantis’ food requirements will vary depending on their growth stage. In general, mantises do not need much food.

For store-bought larvae: Feed fruit flies, small crickets, gnats, aphids and other small bugs. ^{[5] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 174, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5}
For the mantis that has grown and is in the molting stage (development stage): Start increasing the size of the insects and feed the mantis normally after each molt, but you need to clean up but prey it does not touch, as the mantis may not eat during molting.
For fully grown mantises, you’ll have to be busier when feeding them: Catching butterflies, crickets, locusts, even flies. In the wild, the mantis eats every insect it can catch and hold. They can also eat honey bees, wasps, and even small birds. ^{[6] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 174, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5} But you probably don’t want to bother with those mantis foods.
You don’t have to buy crickets from pet stores, although some say that feeding mantis crickets caught in the wild can make them sick. This may or may not be true for mantises kept in stores, but for mantises caught in the wild it is probably not so good. However, many pet stores improperly care for or feed crickets, so infected crickets can pass on to mantises. If in doubt, you can try feeding your mantis store-bought crickets or wild-caught crickets for a few days with a high-nutrient diet to control the bacteria in the mantis gut, and they should be fine.
Do not feed the mantis live bait larger than them, or the mantis will be eaten.
Mantises do not eat dead insects.

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Mist to provide water for the mantis. Buy a spray bottle of water and spray it into the mantis box (if it’s a mesh box). If not, you can fill the bottle with water and put it in a box for the mantis to drink. Remember that the mantis loves to climb, so you should give it sticks to sit on when drinking.

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Clean up the praying mantis food in the feeding box. Mantises do not have the habit of eating neatly; they will leave behind debris such as legs, wings, tough or hard parts that they don’t like to eat, etc. and you will have to clean them every day. The piled up debris will stress the mantis, and they will not adapt well in the artificial environment.

When cleaning up mantis leftovers, you also need to remove their droppings (fecal pellets).

Breeding isolated mantis

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Separate each mantis individually if you plan to keep several. Mantises are voracious eaters of insects, including their own. They are the number one predator in the insect kingdom and will stalk or wait until the opportunity arises, so don’t allow them to eat each other. ^{[7] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 173, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5} Provide a separate home for each mantis you intend to keep.

Holding the mantis

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Be careful when handling mantises. Mantises are fragile, no matter how strong they seem. You should avoid catching it up, as it is risky; it can be strangled to death if you overdo it, or you will be slashed by the mantis with its claws to defend itself. ^{[8] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 174, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5} Then you will be startled rather than hurt, but your mantis will definitely be stress and defense. It’s best to let them crawl into your palm or finger when they’re relaxed. Please be patient!

When cleaning the mantis box, don’t be afraid to pick it up, but you can use gloves if you want.

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Don’t be afraid to pet the mantis. It seems that the mantis loves to be petted on the upper chest. (The place where the fork and body meet).

Mantises have wings as adults, which means they can fly. If you want to pick them up, close all windows and doors before removing the mantis from the box.
When the mantis molts, leave it alone and don’t touch it. ^{[9] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 175, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5} It will shed its exoskeleton and develop a new shell. You can hold the mantis once the new exoskeleton has settled.

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Keep the toilet clean. Wash your hands after coming into contact with the mantis, the mantis box, or the decorations in the box.

Breeding

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Consider breeding mantises if you want to breed more later. Mantises have a short life cycle: 6 months from when they are larvae to adulthood and another 6 months when they are adults. ^{[10] X Research Source David Manning, <i>Praying Mantis</i> p. 174, in <i>Need to know? Exotic Pets: Expert advice on buying and caring for unusual pets</i>, (2008), ISBN 978-0-0726275-5} With good care, mantises can live for a year and a half in a pleasant environment in home. First you need to determine the sex of the mantis – females have 6 segments on the lower abdomen, while males have 8. If they mate, the female will lay many eggshells (ootheca), and may eat the male (non-mating females can also lay eggs, but the eggs will not hatch).

Prepare for larval rearing if you are mating female mantises. The female mantis’ belly will grow, and at the same time it will lose the ability to fly. The female mantis usually lays eggs in early fall or late spring. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to prepare until the eggs hatch next spring.
The mantis eggshell has an eye-catching ridge in the middle, but put that feeling aside!
When spring comes, the mantis eggs will hatch, and the mantis larvae will emerge from the tiny holes in the eggshell. Be careful – they can and will eat each other if not separated, and when it comes to molting, many mantises will stop eating for a day or two to make it easier to come out of their shells.
Feed as directed above.
You can release unwanted mantises into the garden.

Advice

Do not touch mantises while they molt.
Mantis eggshells are very fragile, so you should be careful.
Mantises are harmless creatures to humans.
See Wikipedia’s list of mantis species: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mantis_genera_and_species if you’d like to learn more about the different species.
Contrary to popular belief, mantises are not endangered, and killing mantises is not illegal. However, that doesn’t mean you should. In the US, you may not be able to release a non-native species; Check the local regulations where you live.
Do not pick up a mantis unless you know it will not bite or scratch you.
Each eggshell can hold 75 to 250 mantises.
Do not cut the wings of the praying mantis.
If you have a young mantis, you must give it water every day.
When the mantis is pregnant, you should not pick it up.
Feed the praying mantis before picking it up to play; This will make the mantis calmer and less likely to attack you.
You may not find any mantises if pesticides are used in the garden.

Warning

Keeping two or more mantises in the same box is a very bad idea. Adult mantises don’t usually get along, and they can eat each other.
Do not use poisons (fungicides, insecticides, insecticides) for plants in the mantis box; These substances will kill the mantis.
Do not leave mantises outdoors at night; they can freeze to death if you live in a cold climate.
Do not use any toxic substances to clean the eco-box. Use hot water and mild soap if necessary. You can also ask the pet store about cleaning mantis boxes.
If you have successfully bred store-bought mantises, don’t release them into the wild, unless you’re sure the mantises are native. The release of new species can unbalance the area you live in and is generally against the law.

Things you need

Box to catch mantis (if needed)
Eco-box or mantis accommodation
Sticks, twigs, etc… for the mantis to climb on
Preys such as insects, flies, etc… as described above
Heating plate or other heat source to maintain the proper temperature
Fluorescent lamps such as LEDs (optional)
Real tree, canopy or fake tree (optional)
Permeable substrate, such as soil
Gloves (optional)

Steps