The Guide to Raising Praying Mantises: Part One

This video focuses on gathering praying mantis egg sacks and nurturing newly hatched praying mantis nymphs.

[@breezeb8720]

Had an experience with a PM at an outdoor restaurant and when I woke up this morning thats all I could think about. The insect tried to befriend me. It was highly intelligent and kept coming around even after i initially flicked it away.

[@Turntuppusha]

I have one in my house on my head right now lol . I kept him since last night I love this little mister

[@breezeb8720]

@@Turntuppusha they are fascinating. Thank you for reminding me

[@michaeljr8615]

@@Turntuppusha I hatched my own babies and Jr comes to work with me everyday. He eats so much fruit flies and mosquitos 🥰 I got another egg coming soon from eBay, I just found out it’s a girl by my the way females raise their butts so I change the name from Jr to Michelle :)

[@mikejessmax]

It's an insect, it has no brain capacity to have any intelligence.

[@merciless9338]

It wanted to fight not befriend you 🤣

[@delagum1]

I’m a dad! My two (2) oothecas hatched last night! It looks like I have over 150! I plan on keeping 10 as pets! My friends want at least five! At this stage (L1) they look like a miniature mantis. Two of them hopped on my hand almost immediately when I opened the lid. They were very curious about me! They are very entertaining! Don’t worry that they look like aliens that’s part of their charm! They are very docile and tame. Peace

[@curtisbennett7609]

I was in Australia a couple of years ago and and while I was there for about 6 months I saw saw at least 2 of them that were bigger than 8 to 10" absolutely absolutely blew my mind

[@juliemcgugan1244]

A massive one climbed onto me while I was doing my gardening, a few months ago. Didn’t know she was there, until I went inside and she crawled from my back to my shoulder. I put her in a lemon tree in my garden and she has stayed there all winter. Our winter was mild, but she has disappeared, but she left behind two ootheca. I am now waiting for them to hatch to see the next generation. In the next few days, I will be collecting lots of spoiled fruit (I live next door to a fruit orchard, so no problems there.) it will all go into a big cardboard box underneath the lemon tree, so within a few days, there should be lots of fruit flies for my little brood to feast on!

[@easypeezy03]

While that story is cool it’s highly unlikely you saw an 8”-10” mantis as the largest ones in the world get upwards of 5” max

[@blackirish781]

Mantises have always been some of the most fascinating critters to me. Unfortunately they are pretty rare in my area in Ontario. I'm 41 and have only seen three wild mantises in my life. I spend a lot of time outside too. The idea of raising them never occurred to me. I subscribed for your chemistry contents, buy all of your videos are great and well explained.

[@DBXLabs]

the alt-flight. Thanks!

[@mrfloaty7253]

In the philippines for me ive only seen 4 mantises in personal in my life

[@catsamandaandfriends]

In SW Ontario, have wild ones in my yard :)

[@butcher1335]

You should look up on the Internet if you have reptile shows or expos in your area. I don’t know Canadian geography too well but if there’s any cities that aren’t too deep you could probably hop on a train or a bus and buy a couple critters at a convention. They usually sell cages and shit too Plus they sell jars of flies for food.

[@Xilaas]

If it helps, and you feel up to it they sell some eggs on Amazon

[@S_Creed]

Thank you , As I have around 8 sacks that I collected before the snow came. ❤

[@AdamGeiger-de9ui]

Me too! I rescued a giant mantis who was all puffed up & beautiful trying to scare off several birds circling her on the ground, I brought her inside where she laid an egg casing on a decorative tree for my empty terrarium, she died shortly after, but I became obsessed w/ finding more sacs, & I did! I don't think they will all be successful, I have about 12 now, so I'm pretty sooped up for the big day, it's awesome to think about another weirdo critter loving chick out there doing exactly the same thing as me, good luck!

[@plugnation6224]

Our hatched overnight last night. Any updates?

[@S_Creed]

I had 3 sacks hatch in the last week!

[@S_Creed]

@@AdamGeiger-de9ui dark green, lime green, and light brown! So cute!!!

[@AMKmusic96]

A praying mantis has decided to make its home in my green house. It was very tiny but now its getting bigger maybe L-9 stage. Found this video to see how it will progress!

[@DBXLabs]

Hmmm… an L-9 Chinese mantis would be around 6-7 inches long - pretty larger for this time of the year. Definitely hard to tell how many molts for sure but I’d guess most mantises are around L-4-5-6 at this time. Glad the video helps!

[@AMKmusic96]

@@DBXLabs Thanks!! Yeah I was trying to go off the picture but as far as size id say shes about 3/4in now. She can fit on my whole index finger. Ive found one skin molt but not another. She also seems to be turning a brownish color but when I hold her more green. Interesting!

[@DBXLabs]

@@AMKmusic96 sounds like a Chinese mantis based on the color change. I’d put it at maybe L-3.

[@AMKmusic96]

@@DBXLabs Cool!! I fed it honey yesterday, really loved it 😆

[@veritas-revelare-omnis5217]

My Praying Mantis just hatched, thank you for the content.

[@DBXLabs]

Great! Hope this video helps!

[@tracyvslife3124]

@@DBXLabs same I just got a single one and it is a fascinating pet

[@PrincessCelestia19]

I found a bunch of them today on the house. I played with them for awhile. ❤️

[@E-Tee]

U found a bunch of them in your House?!? 🤔😮

[@anth0nyjohn]

Please make part two. I found this very helpful. Thanks so much 🙏

[@AndyBNerdy]

I know I was sad when I realized he hasn't done part 2 yet. This video was great and I always get excited when I rarely see them in CA.

[@billdavey6864]

Had a female California Mantis get into one of my fly traps. It lived in the trap all summer eating the free flies that were trapped. Once it was full grown a male California Mantis tried to find his way into the trap. I helped him out and put the two together. They mated several times over the next couple weeks until the male mysteriously died and was at the bottom in pieces. I now have 4 egg cases I'm hoping to hatch.

[@ruthannewhitney]

The females will eat the male after mating. That's probably what happened.

[@BlazeDupree1525]

🤣 I'm surprised the little dude survived for more then a few days. Females are ruthless when mating

[@cameronbarber7854]

Gonna type this predicition when I could easily look it up but I am somewhat positive im correct on this, I believe (atleast for certain species of mantis) that the female mantis and male will mate once or more and I don't know if its instinct or a result of a lowly male in the females eyes but ive seen that the females will take the males sperm and then absolutely devour the male afterwards. This could be to stop the males from eating the young or maybe the female was lazy and got what she wanted from the male and was just hungry lol. Reminds me of my ex gf... except without the brutal murder.

[@charleschidsey2831]

There are videos of the female mantis eating the head of the male during the act of mating.

[@joemiller9931]

He did not "mysteriously die". During mating, the female eats the male!

[@BoonieBearsLover]

My praying mantis just had an ootheca this was really helpful!

[@ChrisHansenofTheHiddenLeaf]

As someone who has an extreme fear of the praying mantis, I can't even fathom being in such close proximity to even ONE of those creepy things. Simply looking at a picture of one is enough to make me very uncomfortable and almost always recoil out of reflex. I don't understand why I have this irrational phobia, but the best guess that I have is the earliest memory I have of one when I saw it from the inside of my grandparents car, staring at me menacingly from on top of a traffic cone. Why am I here? I sometimes try to "cure" my phobia even though I know it's futile. OP, you're both the craziest and bravest man that I've never met. Okay now I need to bleach my watch history. The praying mantis thumbnails on the right of my screen are freaking me out, bye

[@HShalita]

This cracked me up 😆

[@Fowlsch]

Haha 😆I had something similar with a staring contest with one, and let's just say I blinked first. But had the opposite effect on me because it won so confidently

[@robertlauber9021]

I inadvertently brought a case into my house with a couple potted perennial herbs so I want to try keeping them alive until it's warm enough to release them outdoors. Thanks for the helpful info!

[@olive_garden446]

Awesome content! I just got 3 L1-L2 baby Carolina Mantises so I appreciate this! ^^

[@barbsmith5398]

I just found a nest of manttisth

[@olive_garden446]

@@barbsmith5398 wow how cool! :0

[@reactivechem7408]

This makes me want to raise my own

[@chemistryscuriosities]

Right

[@delagum1]

You will have a great time with them! Good luck! Peace

[@mattfisher1905]

Great info 👍 I've been hatching mantises for years and appreciate the natural benefit they provide as an alternative to chemical pest control.

[@christianmason4592]

I found one earlier today while at our local dump. It's been chilling on the brim of my hat for a good 30min now lol

[@HShalita]

I'm waiting for my babies to hatch! Thanks for the video 🙂

[@braxlucky5718]

I found one last yr and now iv found 3 or 4 in my hedge plant they are so amazing super cute i hope each yr i get to see more

[@joshuaw2902]

They looked so tiny and cute 🥰!

[@tiwaztyr4324]

Hey this was was interesting and informative. Great video

[@thomassawyer6523]

I encountered a very small mantis the other day, maybe an inch long. So there must be one of those egg cases not far away and I'll look around now that I know what to look for. TY and subscribed.

[@rycrispy]

I found a baby praying mantis in my front yard so i wanted to take care of it because it was all alone

[@rycrispy]

also, i got a baby grasshopper for the baby mantis to eat and it ate it

[@tylerkrug7719]

Live in Washington state,and have grown up in the woods,never seen one here. I actually saw one in Detroit tho,they are so cool!

[@Glassie3731]

Just found 2 females and a male a couple of days ago. The male is now eaten and ive gotten 2 eggsacks. Things are looking up lol

[@robertbradbury1411]

Just got my second mantis its so small this clip will help a lot thank you

[@tabathaparsons3333]

I've never seen a baby one before there cute 🥺

[@WarriorTilTheEnd]

I can't remember how I got here but oh my god baby praying mantises are just so cute!! The grown up ones scare me a little, they just look so alien (but I also love that about them.) I just found out like a month ago that people keep pet isopods, so finding out that people raise mantises is so cool!! Keep doing what you're doing, maybe I'll look into raising some insect critters of my own :)

[@delagum1]

It’s really simple. Oothecas (Chinese) cost around $4. Toss it into a jar (32 oz or more) and sit and wait for 4 weeks to 8 weeks. Check the jar daily and soon you’ll end up with 50 to 200 mantids! You don’t need to feed them for about a week. During this time time you’ll need to separate them and place them individually in their own jar or they will eat each other. After you decide which ones to keep take the rest and put in your garden.

[@sonnydayz2118]

I have 3 oothecas and will be hatching one at a time. I have giant Asian Manti. I ordered starter terrariums and will be selling them with a starter kit. Hmu.

[@susiewheeler8197]

I was out with my grandma and she showed and explained about praying mantises

[@AdamGeiger-de9ui]

Wow thank u so much for rhe tip about the fruit flies, i cant easily get to the pet store so im relieved i have another option by making normal ones slow

[@chemistryscuriosities]

Very cool my friend

[@HistoryShell1786]

I have two European mantises, one male, and one female. It’s the end of the summer, so I’m hoping to get them to mate, however I’ve seen that they can cannibalize, so I need tips for breeding them. Hopefully I can get my own ootheca

[@nowasiwassaying...1699]

where are u located that you find so many oothecs!?

[@scottzarkos3466]

Thanks, just found one the other day. I'll try the honey in the morning. 👍

[@tylerkrug7719]

Dam! That's alot of egg sacks

[@zumbatan550]

Thanks. Once in a while I find a large green mantis in my backyard. How can I raise it to manage my garden pests?

[@bondhond2427]

I found a L1 at work yesterday so i brought it home and made a nice habitat out of a 2L coke bottle so its day 1 of raising a praying mantis

[@plugnation6224]

We had 2 oothecas hatch overnight. Id say there is 100+ in the big chameleon screen cage we have them in. How long before i should let most of them go? We just want to keep a few but want to raise them up to where they have a better shot at survival to help in our vegetable garden.

[@Leedog415]

Thank you! Do you put any small water supply in with them when they hatch? Also is it necessary to hang the eggs or can they rest on a straw pile for example?

[@joemiller9931]

Mist the terrarium daily- just a few sprays once a day. Having the egg case held up helps. Use two-sided sticky tape and tape it to the underside of the lid.

[@CJ-rm6eu]

Wait, so it can eat honey as one of its main sources of food until it can eat regular small flies?

[@DBXLabs]

Yes, but I wouldn’t wait too long to feed living food because they need to develop predatory instincts early on.

[@aymeechildress5406]

Hi! Thanks for making this video. We found a mantis, Manni, about a month ago. She got fat which I thought was because we over fed her, little did we know it's because she was pregnant. She passed away the night before last and were left to care for her ootheca. t The ootheca is about a week old and has been kept in an aquarium. I'm afraid of them hatching too soon before spring, is it too late to put them in the refrigerator?

[@maxdoxie8995]

No I don’t think it’s to late, you should be fine, but I would recommend looking online or something if you don’t want to put the egg at risk.

[@pughat5233]

this exact thing happened to me. i though she was a male, or had already laid her eggs since i grabbed her right before the first heavy frost, when she wouldve died from the cold. nope, after a month or so, ootheca. Brad (the mantis) died a week or so after laying it, and shes now pinned and ive gotta get ready for babies in a month or so

[@juliemcgugan1244]

A huge praying mantis lay oothecas in the lemon tree in my garden. They will probably hatch within the next two weeks, by my calculation, so I’m going to get a large cardboard box and begin to put old, spoiled fruit in it, in order to attract lots of fruit flies. That way, the nymphs will have lots of food ready for them, when they are needing to eat.

[@teacherrussell5206]

I just found a baby on my pepper plant, which I also found tiny aphids all over. I love having the mantis there, but I'm afraid it can't keep up with the aphids. I need more baby mantisis.

[@katiamarin4045]

What am I doing wrong? My baby praying mantis looks quite down and sleepy

[@orchidmantis8246]

Omg hi I have a praying mantis egg!

[@TamiFowler1]

My mom has a greenhouse and she brought a pod in before winter last year and I just noticed that the pod is open so obviously they have been born. They are just loosen her greenhouse. Will they survive??

[@delagum1]

Oh yea. Peace

[@carriecloud4516]

Can I house them through the winter in an aquarium?? I mistakenly allowed them to hatch when it wasn't time

[@DBXLabs]

As long as you keep them inside and provide them food and water, they should survive fine until the spring (flightless fruit flies can be bought in cultures year round).

[@randomalien6936]

Thanks to the praying mantis we have mantis blades in cyberpunk 2077!

[@fruitythebudgie3682]

If you are VERY desperate on giving them some food but dont have any food to give it, u can give it a bit of egg white on a skewer

[@flamesofgames3986]

We don’t have fruit flies down here in my part of South Australia what can I feed them

[@delagum1]

Ants and flies will work. Peace

[@tigerlily1469]

Aw so sad this is your only video on manti. I just got 2 egg cases and im trying to raise them successfully this year. Ive tried for the past 3 years and failed so im trying to find where I was going wrong.

[@henryliu2205]

This was the best video tutorial on raising praying mantises I could find on the internet. I do have a question: my praying mantis it about 1 month old, I have been feeding it honey once every 2-4 days ever since it was born. I have tried giving it fruit fly's but it just wouldn't accept them. What do you think is my next step?

[@DBXLabs]

Thanks! Glad the video is informative. How many molts has it gone through? If it’s only L1or L2, it might not be very prey motivated being fed that often. There’s no physiological harm in feeding as often as you are, however it might mitigate how confident the mantis is approaching insects. From now on, as long as the abdomen never looks sickly-thin, don’t worry about feeding with honey. Also don’t overwhelm younger mantises with too many fruit flies. Start out with the mantis in a small enclosure (Red solo cups work fine) with two or three fruit flies. After a few days you’re sure to find some have been eaten. Hope this helps!

[@henryliu2205]

@@DBXLabs, thank you for the helpful information, my mantis hasn't molted yet. I have been keeping it in a cup ever since I found it, but never new that I had to keep the fruit fly in the cup with the mantis. When do you think the first molt will occur?

[@DBXLabs]

@@henryliu2205 Give it a stick that rests at a 45 degree angle and it should successfully molt in a few days.

[@henryliu2205]

@@DBXLabs Hello, my praying mantis is acting very strange, it isn't moving much and is aways crouching at the corner of the paper towel at the floor of it's cup. I am worried that it is sick. Is this just the normal process of it's molting?

[@henryliu2205]

@DBX Labs sorry to bother you again but sadly, my praying mantis passed away. Do you mind selling me nymhp or two?

[@spookywizard4980]

Hey I've got no problems feeding adult or late instar mantids, but I've never been able to keep one alive from a baby. They just won't eat! I try feeding them aphids but they constantly just walk over them or don't notice them at all! Whenever I try to put anything near them they go into that 'moving' state and don't pick up on any prey. Just wondering if you had any tips on getting them to engage with the prey? Because often even if they attack, they won't catch what they attack...

[@flowerbeanvr4989]

I go to petsmart and buy fruit flies! You could get them online, too. They like to attack active bugs and fruit flies move around a lot!

[@spookywizard4980]

@@flowerbeanvr4989 yeah I've been thinking about it, but I'm a bit cheap and I can just get food for them for free! Haha. But yeah I try to poke everything to move in front of them haha

[@flowerbeanvr4989]

@@spookywizard4980 lol yea, I think there’s some for $5 online

[@tomrobertson6747]

I'm raising Mediterranean Mantids from birth. A surprising number of them are dying. I think the problem may be their inability to digest food. One just ate a fly for more than an hour and its abdomen doesn't seem to show any food in it. It's like it's not fully swallowing the fly and can't finish eating it, as if it's like a human being trying to eat a hamburger with no liquid to wash it down. I'm in Las Vegas. They've survived 120 degrees and months without rain. I was told that they didn't need to drink any water because they got enough from their food, so I haven't been giving them any water. They don't seem to be molting as often as I had expected. Could lack of water explain their difficulty molting and swallowing?

[@joemiller9931]

Mist the terrarium once a day.

[@Fantumh]

I doubt it's a big concern if the honey is pasteurized since honey has anti-microbial properties and so bacteria don't really live in honey. The mantis would be far more likely to be exposed to bacteria through the feeder insects.

[@ambulocetusnatans]

How smart are they? I've got a friend who has Tarantulas and he says some species are smarter than others.

[@DBXLabs]

It seems like they grow smarter with age. Nymphs are dumb as shit but adults will look you right in the eye and I’ve had some rip through clear plastic wrap to escape it’s housing. Not to mention that they can eat adult frogs, mice, and birds when fully grown.

[@halfdead4566]

@@DBXLabs so pretty much humans when married happy as hell early on but will break a door to run when 7 years in

[@Evaherzi]

I always see this in my area but I never dared to touch it because they said that it bite and it stings, So I just ignored it. Now that i've seen this video I really want to ask if it do really bites?

[@DBXLabs]

I’ve never had one bite me

[@ShmeengusDingus]

So they don’t eat immediately after birth? Thank the lord because mine hatched and my flies are arriving in the next few days

[@DBXLabs]

Ah very cool! I haven't found the time to find an egg case this year but I'm glad that some people are using this old video this spring. No, if they just hatched, its unlikely they'll eat anything for at least 3 days or so. After that, they are either interested in eating each other, or things as wide as their arms. Wingless fruit flies are great at that size since it takes a while before they don't get intimidated by larger prey. If you have any questions raising them I'd be happy to help!

[@ShmeengusDingus]

@@DBXLabs Thank you so much it was really informative! Would you say 3 days counting the day of hatching? Or 3 days or so after said hatch day. My flightless fruit flies should be coming tomorrow and I have non pasteurized honey on standby if needed and I can find some bugs for them. Is it completely impossible they won’t eat any form of dead insect? Even if you offer it to them with feed tongs?

[@DBXLabs]

Bleh Bleg praying mantises of all a stages of development can go for up to two weeks without eating anything so I wouldn’t worry too much if they aren’t eating yet. Just make sure they get spritzed some water so that the bottom is never wet, but the sides occasionally have droplets. Chances are, they’ll be too afraid of anything you attempt to feed them dead or alive until they’re at least L3-L4, that’s why honey works since you basically force them to groom (and eat) it off themselves. I wouldn’t worry about needing to feed them honey as long as you get the flies within the next couple days. Flies are really the best way to go since you incorporate some survival of the fittest to weed out the runts. No matter how well you treat them, I can guarantee that out of raising 150 or more, only a quarter will survive to L3 at most and a lot of those will then be cannibalized so feeding in the first couple weeks isn’t a major concern.

[@jessicatemplet3948]

I have a pre-mantis

[@cherylasmith3492]

I brought a large female inside my home two weeks ago when the temps were dipping down below 40 at night. I put her in my basement in an area where I Winter my plants, mostly succulents, and she has been doing a great job of cleaning them up. I also have fed her a stink bug and some ants and meal worms. So I just went to look for her and she has laid a large egg sack. OMG. it's in my basement and I keep it around 55 to 60 degrees. When will they hatch? I will put it in a container today so I don't get an infestation in my home. lol Really I just wanted to save her from dying and have her help me with a spider mite problem on a few of my plants. I never expected this!! Also, will she die after laying this sack?

[@delagum1]

The ootheca (egg sack) may not have mantids. You need both a male and female to successfully have an ootheca full of nymphs (babies). Praying mantids live about 9 months or will die around November. She won’t die after laying one egg sac. Usually a female will lay around 7 egg sacs fertilized or not! Peace

[@joemiller9931]

My mantis (Mandy) laid 4 egg sacs and then passed on about a month after laying the last. Put the ootheca (egg sac) in a paper bag and put it in the refrigerator until spring. Then tape it up on the underside of a jar lid using two-sided tape.

[@destiny_da_dog]

I found a female and left her on my plants. I thought she had left so I put my plants in my house to stay away from this cold winter. I guess she had mated and had babies because my family noticed many covering our plants 😅 we don’t want to get rid of them though so we want to care for them

[@MimiMimi-xx2vc]

Ok I found a tiny tiny pray mantis on my deck smaller than the ones in your video... hahah what should I do, it was by its self .. should I try the honey thing?

[@DBXLabs]

If your honey is pasteurized, that is the best way to go. If not, it’s still an option but given the size the most important thing to do is give it water

[@DBXLabs]

I’d suggest soaking a paper towel to the point where it would almost drip, fold it up and put it in the containment.

[@MimiMimi-xx2vc]

@@DBXLabs thank you so much

[@philphace832]

@@DBXLabs hey smae situation with me, i was sitting outside and the smallest matis landed on my hand, i have it in a container with wigs and leafs and a damp paper towel, what else should we do to keep them alive?

[@DBXLabs]

Pedro Munoz Right now, the priority in keeping it alive is to get it to its first molt. After that their chance of survival increases drastically. Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot you can do besides what you’ve already done to get it there. I’d recommend feeding it pasteurized honey in small amounts but be careful with that since a large drop will trap them in a way most can’t be recovered without losing a limb. It’s impressive how strong the fully grown L8 mantises are, I’ve seen mine eat frogs before, but as I’m sure you can tell, the nymphs are incredibly fragile. I suggest you keep it in that container with a thoroughly damp towel, maybe feed it honey and wait it out to the molt. Hope this helps.

[@clean.parker]

I found a mantis when it turned cold, so I brought it in for the winter. I thought it was just a young male mantis, only to come home tonight to find that SHE was laying eggs. I know what to feed the hatchlings, though I'm concerned about them hatching too soon. How do I keep them in the fridge safely, or if I choose to just let things run its course, how do I house them? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[@DBXLabs]

You should put the ootheca in the fridge as soon as possible and keep it there undisturbed until spring. From what I’ve been told, a period of cold is necessary for the egg sacks to begin the maturation of the mantis larvae. I’m not entirely sure if you could end up hatching an egg sack without this latency period, but it’s unlikely. Would make feeding and housing them easier in the long run anyways. Hope this helps!

[@clean.parker]

@@DBXLabs Thank you for replying so quickly! I just have thee more questions that I've since thought of. Do I let the eggs harden before I put them in the fridge, and I know I should have a ventilated cup for them, though I was wondering if I need to mist the sides of it occasionally for humidity even in the fridge? Lastly, how do I know when to take them out of the fridge exactly? I apologize for the bother, I just want them to have the best odds possible. Their mantis mom is a sweet girl, and I would really like to keep some of her offspring.

[@joemiller9931]

@@clean.parker The egg sac will harden in two days. Then put it in a paper bag and in the fridge- no need to mist. Once it stays above 50 degrees (springtime) take the egg sac out.

[@compendium0050]

The video I was searching last week! My l1 mantises didn't start to eat after 4 days and 40% of them died (maybe no correlation between the two things). I decided to set them free.

[@viviannguyen9344]

part two

[@pickachuagaming2660]

cool

[@eiraahofficial]

hi do u know anyth8ng about australian mantises? i have one and found one today i need help 😅

[@DBXLabs]

Can’t say that I do but as far as I know, all mantises go through the same stages of growth and have similar feeding habits.

[@eiraahofficial]

@@DBXLabs is there any way i can contact u abt this like discord?

[@sreeandsree8022]

Help me I got a very small preying mantis it is very smaller than my little finger first i thought it was an ant until i saw its hands how can i take care of it ? Please reply

[@DBXLabs]

Sorry, I just saw this. Are you in the Southern Hemisphere? Praying Mantises hatch in the spring and grow quite large by fall so if you are approaching fall and it’s that small, it might be another kind of insect.

[@sreeandsree8022]

@@DBXLabs i am in india🇮🇳 pls say how i can take care of it i find it very hard to feed it

[@elizabethnorris4508]

I thought they don’t eat aphid. Only lady bugs?

[@taiplays436]

They'll eat anything they can catch and eat. Young nymphs would target things like aphids and fruit flies, moving onto bigger bugs as they grow. Fully grown mantids will eat houseflies, moths, grasshoppers, and occasionally wasps!

[@milosveselinovic9691]

You can put honey in water and give it to baby pray mantis

[@ananyarath1879]

Help me please 😭 an hour ago, I got a regular green mantis from my garden , I got it when it was crawling on my hand in the rain so I immediately took it inside, but after going into the container, it's trying to escape from me... I'm scared to open the container now , how do I feed it when he's trying to escape

[@DBXLabs]

You might want to try putting it into a container with an open lid, then covering the top with plastic wrap. If you poke a pencil sized hole in the plastic wrap you can add food/water and manipulate the habitat without having the mantis escape. They are incapable of going through those kind of holes even as nymphs.

[@joemiller9931]

They will climb and probe and tap- this is normal. Keep your mantis in a terrarium or large plastic container with ventilation. Feed it ants, flies, stink bugs, meal worms, and crickets. Just drop the bugs in the container and put the lid on.

[@beastwind2398]

so they all molt 10 times for this species?

[@E-Tee]

What does "Molt" means?

[@beastwind2398]

@@E-Tee shed skin

[@DBXLabs]

It’s not a definite number, but 7 to 11 molts in a full adult lifespan is a good range.

[@beastwind2398]

@@DBXLabs ohhh thank you, because i was actually comparing to find out....

[@dabolicious5989]

Hi there my praying mantises hatched yesterday and most of them we let outside and I keepd a couple and most of them died except one and I don’t know what to do if I should give it water or what I am just stressed that he or she will die

[@DBXLabs]

Hey, sorry to hear that. Best thing you can do at this point is give it a small container with a diagonal lying stick, all no larger than a solo cup. As long as it has a piece of paper towel folded and soaked (though not to the point where it could drown) it should have all it really needs until it’s first molt. If you want to try feeding it, honey is the best bet if you can’t find or attract any fruit flies. Hope this helps!

[@dabolicious5989]

@@DBXLabs thanks so much I had it in a big praying mantis mesh net a will transfer him to a smaller cup

[@dabolicious5989]

@@DBXLabs another question when do you think it is time to put on into a homemade habitat and os there a time when you have to let it live outside

[@DBXLabs]

Dabo Licious Generally, the minimum size space for a habitat should be 3 times the length of the mantis in height, width, and depth. (etc. L4 mantis is ~1.5 inches long, make sure containment is at least 4.5 in by 4.5 in by 4.5 in). What I’d recommend is switching to a larger container by the 4th molt or it’s greater than an inch long, whatever comes first. And no, you can keep them however long you want, there’s no rules or regulations regarding keeping them.

[@DBXLabs]

Dabo Licious Ok good. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a big container, it’s just the small mantises will never find food/water if it’s too big.

[@TheSoilandGreen]

They don’t eat aphids, only things they can hold.

[@DBXLabs]

I have fed nymphs aphids.

[@janitajohnson7383]

The paying mantis is not going to hatch😨

[@iangallaghersr.710]

Great video but the plural word for mantis is "mantids".

[@DBXLabs]

Idk about that. Britannica says otherwise. I’ve seen experts go both ways on the pronunciation.

[@iangallaghersr.710]

@@DBXLabs I'll be damned! You're right, it can be used either way. My apologies, great video! Lol

[@raiden1285]

dbx abs

[@milosveselinovic9691]

Who is here in 2024

[@mikeelilingcardenas8425]

How am i supposed to take care an L2 PM?🥹