Any bad side effects from Praying Mantids (Mantis)?

I'm ordering some of these to hatch since I'd like to help control our bug over-population from all the rain. Will the Mantids eat plants, too, or just the bugs?

Just the bugs, Morph. But they will eat beneficials as well as bad guys. Overall, they do more good than harm, though, and their nice to have around.

they're fun to watch too, caught this case hatching the other day. we have about 12 cases in the yard this year

Jody, that is a great picture. I wish we had some here. Every couple of years I see one, but that is all. Again, great picture.

WOW~ I had no idea they hatched out so many at a time!

Thanks Brook & Jody! Very cool picture!!! I think that what I am getting is the shell that will hopefully hatch these. I haven't seen one in ages and the garden sure could use some natural selection. Thanks again!

Mantis are my favorite bug, I love to watch them. We started getting them here a few years ago from who knows where and now we have lots of them. They stick their egg cases in the darndest places, firewood, fence posts, stems of plants, underside of rail fence, etc. We watched a mantis make her egg case, it comes out like foamy stuff and hardens in just a few minutes. Ours are mostly green mantis, with a few brown and a few straw colored. When mature the fat ones are the females and the slim ones are the males, but when they are young they all look slim.

Here's a closeup of one last fall.I hardly ever see them till they get as big as my hand,then,they're everywhere.Whle they are still all green,they blend in .Then when the fall coloration appears,they get easier for me to spot.

That's a great shot, Melody! If we have any around here, they do hide pretty well! That's why I ordered the nests to hatch. I'm really hoping they'll eat some of the bugs around here and hopefully not my gourd leaves :)

Two years ago I saw a mantis case hatch. The first one to emerge ate almost all the others who came out! My friend (it was at her house) told me that is what usually happens.

You might want to keep your eye on it, Morph, to try to rescue a few of them to scatter across your yard. My friend brings a couple into her house every year to eat all the flies and spiders inside.

What a great idea! Thanks for the advice, Lupine. It arrived today and we put it on the tree out back. The temperature range is 70 to 90 degrees with a decent amount of humidity to hatch these guys. Wouldn't you know we're right at 70 degrees right now and it might get even cooler tonight! Humidity is not a problem, but I wonder if I should bring them in the house when it's cold or wrap something around the nest to keep them warm during a cooler night?

bad side effects: a major attack of the heebie-jeebies! ooohh I can't stand them critters, eeeeek! My mom grows them in an aquarium, and those hideous walking stick things, too. auuugh!!!!!!!!!!

LOL, Carena! If they eat the bad bugs, I think they're worth a case of the heebie-jeebies :) I can't believe they eat their birth mates, though. That's rather gruesome :(

The pictures are amazing, I have never seen these in our area at all. I think it would be like a large spider when I first see one and just about give me a heart attack, but then it would be fascinating to watch.

Do they move around the yard much or just stay in one area so you kind of know where to watch for them?

Morph, the females also bite the heads off the males right after mating and eat them, I saw it on a nature show, they are so bizarre, I think they look like aliens!

Mine kind of have a territory that they patrol,unless they are startled.Then they fly a good distance to make sure they are out of danger.

They are quite harmless to us and are curious.The one I took in the picture of above,just sat and watched me.My hand is only about a centemeter out of the shot,holding down a leaf that was blocking the picture.

I'm scare to death of them;but,won't kill them because they are good to have around.Do they bite people?I heard if you get too close;they will spit in your eye-is this an old wife's tale?

I've had them crawl on my hands with no aggressive behavior,but I'm careful not to threaten them.I've heard the tales,but they have never acted mean to me.

They are sort of creepy looking,and I remember those dreadful 1950's B- movies that had them eating New York and such,but I've never had any problems with them at all.

I pick them up and rescue them from cats, dog, lawn mower or whatever looks like it might kill them, and release them at another safer looking spot, usually on a bush so they can hide right away. They don't bite and I haven't had one spit so that might be an old wives tale. They tickle when they crawl on my arm.

Walking sticks! EEEEEEEeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww!

When I was little (maybe 5), my oldest brother found a cocoon, and put it in MY bedroom closet to see what would hatch. Why mine? Why not? What better way to torment your sister?

Moths didn't hatch; walking sticks did! Several thousand came marching out when I opened the closet door one day. I still get major attacks of yukks when I think about this.

Now I hear they are endangered. Serves 'em right! Scaring an innocent little girl like that! *grin

Oh lupy, ick!!!!! aren't brothers priceless??? did you get revenge? weird bugs, they look like they'd be hard like sticks but they are sickeningly squishy if you touch them.

Praying Mantis and Walking Sticks are two entirely different insects and also much different eating habits. Praying Mantis are insect eaters and Walking Sticks are foliage eaters. I hate Walking Sticks. Had a terrible experience as a child. We came home from town to find the house absolutely covered in the creatures. That was in the early '50s & I don't remember what my father did to rid us of them. Mantis are something I like but our poultry eat so many of them that they don't stand much of a chance around here. I don't think I want any in the house for any reason.

Will they survive in south east UK? Could do with some!

Probably they would survive. Can you locate a firm that sells beneficial insects in UK? They could send you egg cases. The adults die at the first killing freeze, but the young ones hatch in the spring from eggs laid the previous year. The egg cases survive our worst winters, down to -15F. Mantids that are kept inside live for years (I think). My friends brings a few in every summer, and they are present all through the winter.

There would probably be several hundred laws to prevent one of us in US sending you insects!

Nothing like waking up with a praying mantis on the pillow beside you eyeing you, wondering if you are breakfast! *shiver

Rosalia, you are in luck ☺

Here's a link I found last night from Europe/UK: http://praying-mantids.co.uk/mantids/

You have lots of options for buying them from already grown to egg form. I'm a little green with envy, but I've my egg cases that I've been babysitting now for about 2 weeks.

Thanks Morph,
I've just been looking at the site...& still a little confused as to the right mantis to control my garden pests.
Do they eat slugs?

Hmmmm... Don't know about that one. That would be a dream come true for gardeners!!! I do know that one of the sites said that the Mantids don't discriminate between the good or bad bugs. They eat them all the same. So, if your neighbors have tastier bugs, they may leave your garden to go eat some where else!

If I find out about the slug eating, I'll let you know. I'm battling that one, too! Going to put out some oatmeal tonight which I think is the same as your "porridge oats".

Check out this thread that Rootdoctor started about slugs. It's good, too, if you haven't seen it ☺

http://davesgarden.com/t/382015/

I don't think mantids eat slugs in my yard. Wish they would, but it would probably be a week's meal for one. Today's slug (ewwww) was 9" long :(

Lupy, you should have taken a picture of that and posted it here! My slugs are only an inch or so (that I've seen) & I had no idea they could get that big! I suppose this weather is when they thrive since I don't remember having such a problem last year.

I am tempted to get some mantis. Do you think that they will survive in Seattle/ Washington area?

Epi

I think if you can get them to hatch, they would be fine. The directions that came with mine said to keep them at a temperature between 70 and 90 degrees fahrenheit and to include humidity in their hatching environment.

I have each pod in a clear plastic container. The kind of containers that are popular right now as you can throw them out without feeling SUPER guilty. I poked holes for air, but not too big of holes since they are only the size of mosquitoes or smaller when they hatch. Just yesterday I added a moist cotton ball to each container for humidity.

If they start to hatch, you have to get them out of the container and set them free otherwise they will begin to eat the others that hatch from the same pod. Or, you can feed them aphids or fruit flies but that doesn't seem to conceivable to me since those would likely fly through the air holes.

I think they die when winter comes with the colder temperatures. But, apparently they make these pods in the fall and then when the weather reaches the right range the following year, they hatch the following spring/summer.

I'm certainly not an expert on these. Just an interested gardener is all ☺