/r/mantids

Photograph via snooOG

A subreddit for those looking for information, care tips, general advice on mantises. Discuss mantis and the mantiskeeping hobby. Share pictures, seek advice, trade, have a good time!

a community for mantis lovers, and owners to share pictures, articles, discuss breeding, trade nymphs and oothecas, DIY projects and everything inbetween this wonderful hobby!


10/8/2018 hello! A couple of users haven't been able to post on here. It appears that their posts don't show up after being submitted. if this is happening to you let us know so we can look into it.


The Mantis

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Subclass: Pterygota
  • Infraclass: Neoptera
  • Superorder: Dictyoptera
  • Order: Mantodea

Faqs and useful info

Part1

Part2

Part3

Part4

  • list of commonly kept mantises

  • is it legal in the US to own an exotic mantis?


  • Useful Links


    Friends of r/Mantids

    /r/mantids

    38,818 Subscribers

    3

    Any ideas for sellers? UK

    I'm trying to get a spiny flowered mantis ideally, I havs a giant asian who is pretty old (nearly a Yr) and I don't want to get a mantis who looks like him as it will be pretty sad for me

    My problem is all the sellers website so far I've looked at are out of stock of these mantids, any ideas? I bought my giant Asian from unseen universe and looked at are few other websites

    2 Comments
    2024/12/03
    11:39 UTC

    10

    Update on egg bound female

    Our elderly female (final moult 4th April!) still hasn't laid an ooth.

    She isn't oozing from her abdomen but got to the point where she was so stretched her insides came oout between segments.

    We cut down on any large food and are running long periods between any food at all, each time she bulges back out.

    A couple of her legs aren't moving properly and we suspect she fell at some point.

    She is still pooping, we've moved her to a smaller enclosure and changed the layout to give more options for laying but unfortunately that didn't work either although I think she has been trying.

    She has been quite aggressive so the only handling has been cleaning out and moving her between enclosures for the last couple of months.

    Our only hope now is she doesn't burst!

    Not looking for any advice but there has been quite a few chats on egg-bound females and some interest in what can be done - in our case I think nothing more bar wait and see, and hope she passes through age not abdominal tearing.

    4 Comments
    2024/12/03
    09:51 UTC

    6

    Checking on her next meal

    Orla has a bottle cap in her enclosure that acts as a food bowl containing greenbottle, bluebottle and wax moth pupae. I put them in here because I found if I put them straight on the damp substrate they often didn’t hatch. Some days she literally just sits staring at the pupae, as though she’s willing them to hatch, although I suspect it’s because she can see tiny movements.

    0 Comments
    2024/12/03
    08:40 UTC

    295

    Was recording her drinking after a meal, she had a little stretch

    18 Comments
    2024/12/03
    03:24 UTC

    1

    Mantis Trouble

    Found a full-grown Chinese mantis outside right before it was going to start snowing.

    She's underweight, won't eat anything aside from some honey and very little liquid food (but only a few bites), hasn't pooped in a few days, isn't molting, and one of her arms wasn't working but she kinda gained use of it again after a few days.

    Does anyone know what's going on with her? I would appreciate any advice

    Edit: I've tried giving her live insects (and even dead ones), but she just runs away from them

    https://preview.redd.it/gi3lpivn7j4e1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4274339a6d09634a49e8e18a9bffaa56746887a2

    17 Comments
    2024/12/03
    00:58 UTC

    8

    My first Mantis Tank. Do you guys miss somthing or is it good? Have a nice day 💚

    4 Comments
    2024/12/02
    22:40 UTC

    2

    How to best "care" for fruitflys?

    Raising a ton of babys right now and asked myself the question on how to care for the flys to get the most outa them. Last time I had flys (when mommy mantis was a baby) that stuff at the bottom turned brown at some point and the flys died. Do I put em somewhere warm or cold? Also, can I breed these flys the get more? Tryed that last time in a different cup but the ones I seperated just died off with no new ones emerging from that paste after waiting.

    1 Comment
    2024/12/02
    21:52 UTC

    13

    Should i put some soil on the bottom of his enclosure?

    6 Comments
    2024/12/02
    21:42 UTC

    52

    What's going on???:(((

    Last time I posted about a weird shape of her abdomen. Today she should eat, so I tried to took her out of the enclosure. She was barely holding on to her celling for hanging so she fell on a stick that was close. I noticed she wasn't even trying to climb back in, she just kinda was staying in place. I got worried so I tried to took her out and she is walking like this. I have no idea what is happening and I can't find any information about it. I have a second mantis even for a bit longer and she is fine. I mist her enclosure as always and only not a long time ago she started eating again and now she looks like this. What is happening to her and how can I help😭😭😭 She seems to be really struggling, no wonder she had trobule eating:(

    21 Comments
    2024/12/02
    20:19 UTC

    1

    Wandering violin mantis

    Please for the love of god I wanna make a huge colony out of this tank but I can’t find a single one for sale I’m gonna tweak 😭😭😭

    0 Comments
    2024/12/02
    19:51 UTC

    15

    Found a black European mantis

    I was looking at in iNatrualist and looking at around 2000 pictures of observations of the European mantis and almost all were green or brown and a very few yellow and turquoise ones. But what surprised me was a black coloration which is extremely and I did not know they exist until looking through 2000 pictures of all different mantis specimens, there was only 1 that was black one, so weird colorations do exist but they are very rare.

    credit - iNatrualist: rubenferreira

    https://preview.redd.it/1vbhtr2yyf4e1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&s=59a84c88dc65fe0babc69d8d1c28eed2bfd74d19

    2 Comments
    2024/12/02
    14:05 UTC

    1

    !help! what do i do my praymantis is leaking a blue liquid from her rear

    1 Comment
    2024/12/02
    06:46 UTC

    3

    Hierodule membranacea - male/female?

    Hi, maybe you can tell me the sex of my mantis. Close up on abdomen at 1:20. All I know is it skinned once, so it's at least L2.

    YoutTube: Hierodule membranacea - Young Giant Asian Mantis

    5 Comments
    2024/12/01
    17:43 UTC

    658

    Empusa pennata

    32 Comments
    2024/12/01
    16:26 UTC

    1

    Any good food alternatives instead of using roaches for my praying mantis?

    It turns out that I am not allowed to buy roaches as my family is afraid that if the roaches escape then there will be an infestation which can happen. I heard that roaches have the most nutrients and is the most protein dense food for the mantises and that is the reason why I thought of buying them but now I can't. Please let me know what other foods that are good for my mantises instead of roaches.

    https://preview.redd.it/5l036bhxe94e1.png?width=1071&format=png&auto=webp&s=bae217d833ed70e7cb544cd2e8c7c73e277ad7e2

    4 Comments
    2024/12/01
    15:58 UTC

    1

    mantis

    I am very interested in Mantids (not getting one until i have enough knowledge) specifically Ghost mantis (phyllocrania paradoxa) and orchid mantis (hymenopus coronatus) so i want to know more ! Tell me everything I need to know about these 2 mantids :)

    4 Comments
    2024/12/01
    14:08 UTC

    13

    So, how tf do mealworms reproduce

    This enclosure hasn't been used for few months, and recently I got this baby. I fed him a big fly and left, only to come back to him eating a-not-fly-looking-thing.
    I didn't know where the mealworm came from and eventually settled on it being dead left over from before, which, yea, is weird, mantids don't attack dead things, but what else could be the reason?
    Upon taking a closer look I saw at least a dozen more mealworms hidden out and about, now, I wasn't exactly careful when feeding and sometimes when I dropped a mealworms behind some decoration, I let it be, but over all, I lost max 2 or 3 and never saw any adult beatles....

    10 Comments
    2024/12/01
    13:34 UTC

    60

    Girl looks like molted skin

    (Camera makes her look whiter than she is)

    12 Comments
    2024/12/01
    13:29 UTC

    86

    Is dying of old age painful?

    My praying mantis is dying of old age and I don't want them to suffer. What should I do? I don't want to kill them, but if it's what I have to do then I'm capable of doing it. Any advice? (bonus pic of Skittle from a few months ago)

    21 Comments
    2024/12/01
    07:35 UTC

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