View Full Version : Praying Mantis
costanza187
09-27-2008, 16:26
I have noticed a couple of these around my house lately. They are SO cool... you can be near them and move your finger and they will watch you. Hard to believe they are a bug. I love these things.
http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3199/mantisgy1.jpg
Yeah they are pretty cool
mrmedina
09-27-2008, 17:40
I like this time of year because of the PMs. I like the really big ones with a
body as fast as your pinky finger. You look at them closely and they do look back at you.
Here's my little buddy...
The pic is a bit big, so I'll try to edit it down a bit if I get the chance.
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x182/philmarie/mantis2.jpg
We relocated a BIG one (mostly tans and greys for color) from the high school to our hibiscus garden and now we've got a bunch of babies. Problem is, we've also got a bunch of baby eye-lickers (Geckos), so they probably won't last long unless they hide at night.
Meet my friend. I had at least 100 babies on my clematis bush. Here's what they look like when they're babies. They look at you too :)
http://www.bright.net/~dpreed/mantis.JPG
The Pontificator
09-27-2008, 18:04
I was shopping in Big! Lots a couple of months ago and I looked down into my cart and lo and behold there was a GIANT mantis sitting on top of the stuff in my cart. How he ever got inside the store is beyond me, but I got a box from the manager and took him home and released it out in the yard.
This guy was on our front door jamb one day. They are indeed, very cool.
http://i37.tinypic.com/ei1avl.jpg
Do they bite? They don't look too friendly. I never cared for em too much so I don't get near them. I heard that they spit stuff at your eyes?
Do they bite? They don't look too friendly. I never cared for em too much so I don't get near them. I heard that they spit stuff at your eyes?
They do not spit.
I've never been bitten by one, but I'm sure they can pinch. They're EXCELLENT at eradicating your garden of nasty bugs.
They do not spit.
I've never been bitten by one, but I'm sure they can pinch. They're EXCELLENT at eradicating your garden of nasty bugs.
Yep...what Sidhe said :)
Here's my little buddy...
The pic is a bit big, so I'll try to edit it down a bit if I get the chance.
Yours is an adult female Carolina mantid and she's about ready to lay eggs.:banana:
Walking sticks put the stuff in your eyes
Right now we have two on our shed. Slightly different size and color. They've been staring each other down for a few hours now, I guess it's getting to be time for whoopie. :)
tbhracing
09-27-2008, 18:31
I love them too. They are such nice bugs and eat the bad ones. Here is a picture of a PM tattoo...
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r145/boukca/misc013.jpg
true believer
09-27-2008, 18:58
Meet my friend. I had at least 100 babies on my clematis bush. Here's what they look like when they're babies. They look at you too :)
http://www.bright.net/~dpreed/mantis.JPG
a few years in a row i had a few hundred babies in a bush in the front yard..they would hatch in nthe spring and as the spring went on you would see fewer and fewer till 1 or 2 would be left..
in the fall i would see the female with the big egg sack on her belly..getting ready to start all over again..
1 thing i hate is spiders, i stay away and run like hell when i see a spider but i took a few babys p.m.'s out of a web 1 year...
:wow:
fnfalman
09-27-2008, 19:04
They like to hang out at the hummingbird nectar feeds and eat the tiny bugs that congregate there as well. Pretty cool.
Dandapani
09-27-2008, 19:36
They do not spit.
I've never been bitten by one, but I'm sure they can pinch. They're EXCELLENT at eradicating your garden of nasty bugs.
My son was playing with one and it bit him. Drew blood.
My son was playing with one and it bit him. Drew blood.
Yah, but how big are your son's fingers compared to adult fingers? My son's been pinched by one, but never bitten.
Just saw our first one here in NE last night. Cool bugs. Also the Orb Weaver spiders are coming out. Neat time of year.
Mass10mm
09-27-2008, 20:21
Definitely cool predators. Not only do they eat a variety of insects, but also the occasional small bird!! See this (http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyardbirds/hummingbirds/mantis-hummer.aspx?sc=birdwireJul2005).
http://scottthong.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/mantis_hummingbird.jpg
http://scottthong.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/mantis_hummer2.jpg
Wow, I did not know they could do that to a humm-bird.....incredible....as an aside to the thread, I watched a " U-Tube vid some kids put up, and they had a mantis in a large jar, ( boys will be boys ) and they were introducing various bugs, etc, into the jar, of course the mantis killed and ate them all.
They then introduced Mantis to a field mouse......I never would have guessed it, but that Mantis killed, and proceeds to eat the damned mouse, I kid you NOT !
Isn't nature wonderful ?
Ime Oute :cool:
The female praying mantis will usually eat the male right after the act of mating occurs. Yea, not cool.
What's worse... the female will sometimes eat the head of the male while still IN the act of mating. Yes, in other words, they're doing it, and she's biting off his head. He doesn't die right away either. Mating continues like that.
(SHUDDER)
:scared:
Video of female eating the male: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYp_Xi4AtAQ
MarksGlock22
09-27-2008, 22:30
I catch them all the time, and i even pick up their egg sacks in winter when I find them and put them inside and hatch them and release them in spring
One year when I was young..13/14? I caught one and put it in an aqarium, I caught a baby black snake maybe 14" long and put it in with it, next morning, the PM had killed the snake and eaten chunks out of it, I was shocked.
took this about 5 mins ago outside my dorm,.. he was on the wall about 9ft high, cool little guy.
http://glocktalk.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=158102&d=1222575722
the iceman
09-27-2008, 23:37
I have never seen one in real life.
They look and act like alien creatures... maybe they are? LoL
I catch them all the time, and i even pick up their egg sacks in winter when I find them and put them inside and hatch them and release them in spring
One year when I was young..13/14? I caught one and put it in an aqarium, I caught a baby black snake maybe 14" long and put it in with it, next morning, the PM had killed the snake and eaten chunks out of it, I was shocked.
Some species grow nice sized impalers that are located on their arms (located under the folded pinchers). These are needle sharp and can puncture a 2 liter plastic bottle!
They can definitely use those to draw blood. Best to just leave them alone to do their job.
:)
proguncali
09-28-2008, 00:04
They'll even eat Black widows....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3mUvJZ39k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN-Y4IHQ-fU
Ok, um.. these mo fuggas fly. I went to catch him on a piece of paper for some more pictures, he flew, i ran and screamed like a little girl flailing my arms around......
tbhracing
09-28-2008, 03:27
Female rips of males head after breeding or takes his wallet, no difference.
Apocalypse_Now
09-28-2008, 03:58
I used to let them crawl on my hand or arm as a child, and now as a man I am trained in quite a bit of Praying Mantis Gung Fu, having adapted some techniques to my own "style"..
They are one of the coolest insects ever, harmless to humans but a thrill to study. Great to have in your garden, consider them a blessing if you see them
Apocalypse_Now
09-28-2008, 04:00
Female rips of males head after breeding or takes his wallet, no difference.
Yes, but the male volunteers. there's a lesson in that :embarassed:
I used to catch them when I was a kid and make pets out of them and liked to watch them eat grasshoppers and other large insects I'd give them. Once they get used to you, they tend to hang around. I would walk around town with one on my shoulder.
As has been mentioned, they do look at you when you look at them. I believe they are the only insects that can moved their head from side to side.
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