The praying mantis is a fascinating insect found around the world and is a great choice as a pet. Even people who don't like insects can be captivated by the beauty of a praying mantis, when it turns its head behind its shoulders to look at you (it's the only insect that can!).
There are praying mantises of many colors, for example pink like a flower (the praying mantis of orchids - Hymenopus coronatus) and white, although most are green or brown. The type of mantis species you can keep depends on where you live and whether you get your specimen from nature or an exotic pet store. Raising a praying mantis is pretty simple, a lot of fun, and you will likely learn a lot about this unique and fun insect by observing its quirks.
Steps
Part 1 of 6: Where to find them
Step 1. Find a praying mantis
You can find this insect in many parts of the world. If you know they are present in your area, you can try to find one in its habitat. Praying mantises are usually 7-8cm long and mostly green or brown in color. They look a lot like twigs and leaves, and for this they blend well into the environment.
- Look for places where there are many green bushes, crickets and butterflies. These are some of the mantis' favorite foods.
- Watch carefully. These little insects are masters of camouflage. Most are long and green. Some can be large and gray, or even be a shade of pink. Some resemble flowers, but you can only find them in Africa and Asia. Try to imagine how a mantis is trying to blend in and it will be easier to find one.
Step 2. Get a container for your mantis
It won't have to be very big - a 6 "x 6" square will suffice for most mantises. The container should be well ventilated and preferably made with a net, to give the mantis and its prey something to hold onto. It should also have a secure lid. Never use a container that has chemicals in it.
Step 3. Capture your mantis
You probably won't need gloves unless you have a hard time touching insects. Simply place the opening of your container in front of the mantis. Push the mantis inside with a stick, or with your hand if you are not afraid. It will soon enter the container. Close the lid, because the mantis will immediately try to escape.
Step 4. Buy one
If you can't find one or they don't have one in your area, visit a local pet shop and ask if they can get you a particular praying mantis. This way you will have access to a superior variety of species, according to your country's laws on importing insects and keeping them as pets.
If you buy a praying mantis, you will often find it as a chrysalis. Each chrysalis is sold with a small container
Part 2 of 6: Prepare the Habitat
Step 1. Prepare the home for your mantis
For your insect to be happy and healthy, it will need a nice environment to live in. Choose a suitable structure, such as a terrarium. The structure should be large enough for an adult mantis if you have purchased a chrysalis and should be kept warm, around 24 ° C, and a few degrees less at night.
- Place objects to climb onto the terrarium. The praying mantis must be able to climb on twigs, twigs, small stakes, etc.
- Decorate the terrarium with leaves, twigs and other natural objects on which the mantis can move. Some people place a plant or two in the display case so that the mantis can have fun and move.
- You can heat the display case with a spotlight or a thermal pillow. Talk to your local pet shop to learn about the options available.
Part 3 of 6: Power
Step 1. Provide adequate food
A praying mantis's dietary requirements vary according to its state of growth:
- For a store-bought chrysalis: Feed it fruit flies, micro crickets, gnats, aphids, and other micro insects.
- For a mantis that has grown and is in the moulting phase: it begins to increase the size of the insects; then for each moulting period, feed her normally, but remove anything she ignores, as she may not eat during this period.
- For an adult mantis: catch butterflies, crickets, grasshoppers or flies. In the wild, a praying mantis eats anything it can catch. Bees and wasps can also eat, but it is probably not wise to try to catch them.
- Buying crickets from a pet store isn't necessary, although some people will tell you that using wild crickets could make your mantis sick. This is certainly not for mantises raised in captivity, but wild ones may feel sick.
- Don't give your mantis live prey larger than it is or it may end up being eaten.
- Praying mantises do not eat dead insects.
Step 2. Sprinkle water into the case to give your mantis a drink
Step 3. Remove leftover food from the display case
Mantises are not very tidy when they eat and leave all kinds of residues, such as legs, wings, hard or rubbery parts that they did not like, etc., and you will have to remove them every day. When this debris builds up, mantises will not be happy and will not appreciate their artificial environment.
When you take out the leftovers from his meals, you also remove his excrement (they have the shape of balls)
Part 4 of 6: Make her stand on her own
Step 1. Keep your mantis separate from the others you want to keep
Religious mantises are very fond of other insects, even of their own species. They are the top predators of the food chain in the animal world and are ruthless hunters, so don't give them a chance to become cannibals too. Set up different display cases for each mantis you want to breed.
Part 5 of 6: How to handle it
Step 1. Handle it with care
Your praying mantis is delicate, even if it appears very strong. Avoid picking it up, because you would run a lot of risks; you may crush it by squeezing too hard, or it may try to defend itself by hitting you with its front legs. You will likely be surprised more than feel pain, but you will certainly make the insect nervous and put it on the defensive. The only method of catching it is by allowing it to mount on your outstretched hand as it pleases. Be patient!
Don't be afraid to pick them up when cleaning the case, but you can use gloves if you prefer
Step 2. Don't be afraid to play with it
It seems that some really appreciate being "stroked" in the part where the legs join the body.
- Adult praying mantises have wings and can fly. If you want to keep your pet, close all windows and doors before taking him out of his case.
- When the mantis is moulting, leave it alone and don't touch it. During this process it will lose its old exoskeleton and form another. When the new exoskeleton is completed, you will be able to handle it again.
Step 3. Maintain hygiene
Wash your hands after handling your mantis, its case, or whatever it contains.
Part 6 of 6: Have them reproduce
Step 1. You can have praying mantises reproduce if you want to have many over time
A mantis has a short lifespan, about six months from chrysalis to adult, and another six months as an adult. With good care, it is possible to extend this period up to a year and a half thanks to the comfortable home life you are offering. Identify the gender of your mantis first - females have six segments on the abdomen, while males have eight. If a female is fertilized, she can produce many eggs, and she can eat the male (and remember that unfertilized females will lay eggs anyway, which simply won't hatch).
- Be prepared to nurse if you catch or fertilize a female mantis. His abdomen will swell and he will no longer be able to fly. Your mantis should spawn in the early fall or late spring. Do not worry. You will have plenty of time to prepare before the eggs hatch the following spring.
- The egg container has a relief in the center. Not a pretty sight for many, but try not to be too picky!
- In spring, the eggs should hatch, and the pupae should emerge from tiny holes in the container. Be careful - chrysalis can, and often will, eat each other if they are not separated, and by the time they reach the moult stage, many mantises will stop eating for a day or two, to encourage their exit from the old shell.
- Feed the pupae as directed above.
- You can free mantises that you don't want to keep in your garden.
Advice
- Make sure you don't touch your mantis while moulting!
- Praying mantises make very fragile egg containers, so be very careful.
- Always treat all animals with care.
- With proper care, a mantis can live up to a year and a half.
- Use a fluorescent light in the terrarium if you want to see your mantis in the dark. This lamp will also provide welcome light to the plants you keep inside.
- Always treat each animal with care, and wash your hands after touching the terrarium or its accessories.
- Praying mantises are harmless to humans and lethal predators to all other insects.
- Some online stores will sell you an egg container that you can hatch in your garden. This will increase the local mantis population, decrease that of other insects, and give you more chances to observe mantises in their natural habitat.
- It is best to just observe praying mantises in your area instead of catching them. They are beautiful to look at and will return your gaze. A visit from a mantis is a good omen. Killing one, on the other hand, is considered an omen of doom.
- It is best to purchase a mantis from a pet store; catching one can take a lot of patience, and you could risk killing it.
Warnings
- Do not clean the terrarium with toxic products. Use warm water and liquid detergent soap if necessary. Or ask the pet shop owner if he has any recommendations on what products to use.
- If you have successfully reproduced store-bought mantises, do not release them into the environment unless you are certain that the species you have bred are already present in your area. Releasing an exotic variety could upset the balance of the ecosystem and is generally illegal.
- Do not use poisons (fungicides, pesticides, insecticides) on the plants you have placed inside the mantis case; you would kill her.
- Remember not to use a container that has chemicals in it.
- It is a really bad idea to have two or more mantises in the same case. They don't get along well as adults, and will try to eat each other.
- Don't leave a praying mantis outside at night; it could freeze and die if you live in a cold climate.
