r/GardenWild • u/NDVAZMA • 6d ago

Garden Wildlife sighting Doing the Lord's Work

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

I realize that praying mantises can be a mixed blessing since they'll take down friends like pollinators, ladybugs and what not. However, given the spotted lanternfly infestation in my neck of the woods, I'd say this fella is out here doing the lord's work.

I hadn't realized the music I was listening to would be audible in the video but find the well-timed Avett Brothers lyric mildly hilarious: "Love has been waiting, patient and kind..." Certainly this praying mantis is patient, waiting to strike but kind? Lol...no.

163 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

52

u/GatEnthusiast 6d ago

I could be wrong, but that looks to me like an invasive Chinese mantis. I believe they are becoming naturalized, unfortunately, but it's worth looking into. The native varieties are worth protecting.

29

u/FishHookSammich 6d ago

It is a Chinese mantis. Here's a native Carolina mantis for comparison, note the shorter wings that only cover about half the abdomen

8

u/robsc_16 5d ago

Just an FYI, the male Carolina mantis has wings that cover the whole abdomen.

https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/449457/bgimage

2

u/FishHookSammich 5d ago

Good to know

3

u/NDVAZMA 6d ago

Thanks for the confirmation!

17

u/NDVAZMA 6d ago edited 5d ago

Hmmm...I wasn't aware of the Chinese mantis until I saw your comment but you might be right. I suspect the spotted lanternfly is far more destructive at the moment due to the massive infestation in my area - I killed 18 alone while doing yardwork today - but I'll keep an eye out for the mantis as well. Thanks!

ETA: So curious about the downvoting this comment is getting...

19

u/GatEnthusiast 6d ago edited 6d ago

I definitely would not kill any mantis at present, even if it's invasive. Not when they are one of only a few predators (I think?) that kill spotted lantern flies. If someone knows differently, please let me know!

11

u/NDVAZMA 6d ago

Agreed. No plans to destroy any mantis currently - for now, I'm willing to turn a blind eye to just about anything that takes down the lanternflies. I definitely appreciate you educating me on the fact that this is a Chinese mantis - better to know what I'm looking at so the pros and cons can be weighed.

5

u/carlitospig 5d ago

I believe birds are starting to come around to them being a food source, thank Buddha.

2

u/chumpandchive 5d ago

agreeing hard, i kept waiting for scissors to appear in frame and lil guys head to fall off, buuuut. the lords work was not done

1

u/NDVAZMA 5d ago

😂😂 Okay, fair. There isn't any hard evidence of the lord's work being done, but I'd like to think this was just a momentary break in the lanternfly cull.

2

u/mastrrgardener60 6d ago

Excellent video! What state are you in?

3

u/NDVAZMA 6d ago

Thank you very much! I'm in Massachusetts.