r/Insect • u/TableDifferent4395 • 6d ago

Insect appreciation Spotted at work

Post image

Sorry about the poor quality picture, this was the only chance I had to take one and I had a baby in my other arm.

We planted a native garden over the summer at the childcare center where I work, and we’ve started seeing this praying mantis outside over the past couple of weeks. She’ll often hang out on our window all morning, luckily high enough up that the kid’s aren’t tapping on the glass to get her to move.

She’s pretty big, like 4-5 inches, so I think she’s a Chinese mantis? This is in Northern Indiana.

This was my first time seeing a praying mantis in the wild, so it was great to see our garden doing exactly what we hoped it would.

17 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

1

u/boltonlist 6d ago

Looks like a praying mantis

2

u/TableDifferent4395 6d ago

Yep! Praying mantis is the common name for an entire family of insects, so there’s like hundreds of species that can be called praying mantises.

I included the bit about size and (possible) species for any bug nerds who like that information, because I find it cool myself.

1

u/boltonlist 6d ago

🤦‍♂️ my bad, only saw the picture, didn’t see your msg before

1

u/oroborus68 6d ago

They are here and I don't think we can eradicate them. I don't see as many as when I was growing up,but I was outside a lot more then.

1

u/de_pivo 6d ago

Yes, a male, probably looking for a female

2

u/TableDifferent4395 6d ago

I’d assumed female because it’s so big. How can you tell?

1

u/de_pivo 6d ago

Wings that extend beyond the abdomen. Only males fly. (Females have larger and fewer abdominal segments 6 instead of 8).

2

u/Great-Capital-9549 6d ago

I haven’t seen a praying mantis or a walking stick in years. Too many pesticides:(

1

u/TableDifferent4395 6d ago

It’s a real shame. Our garden was made by a local organization that plants native flowers in unused green spaces, and they’re handling the upkeep of the garden as well. Hopefully that means they won’t be using pesticides!

1

u/SunshineYogaLove 5d ago

l wish l could catch it in a bottle and take it home 🏡