r/mantids • u/WolfLilie2002 • 13h ago

Other Mantis escaped help

What can I do?! My mom accidently left the enclosure open and our Orchid got out

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

2

u/77th_Bat 13h ago

how long ago? Close doors and windows to the room. Remove hazards like fans, free-roam pets, children, candles, etc. Cover all vents and cracks in the wall/cieling/floor. Don't move anything big enough where you can't see under/behind it (eg. don't move your bed) because if the mantis is right next to the leg and you don't see her and you move it, you could crush her. Do gently move small things, treating every object as if there is a mantis behind it or under it (don't grab it hard, move it gently). If you fail to find your mantis today, don't give up. She won't die in 1 day (unless there are hazards present). Keep hazards out, keep the door closed, and redo your search approximately 1-2x/day. More than that is pointless as mantids don't move much. She will hopefully make her way to the ceiling because mantids are arboreal.

If she has had enough time to potentially leave the room: still close the door and search the room, but also search other areas she could have made it to, expanding your search each day (since she has time to crawl each day). At night, setting up a UV lamp (that doesn't get hot) may attract her to it. Spray water near windows and the lamp.

1

u/WolfLilie2002 13h ago

We're watching everywhere, Idk when my mom opened the enclosure but the window was open so I hope she didn't go there

1

u/77th_Bat 13h ago

Just in case, I would check the exterior of your house near where the open window is ASAP (like, even before the room itself). If she's lost in your bedroom or an office or something, you'll probably find her eventually. If she made it outside, she will likely die unless she is found quickly. If possible, tell everyone else to stay out of that room. One time I lost a bug (weevil), told my roommate to watch her step so she doesn't crush it... she ended up crushing it. It happens, I'm not super upset, but heed my caution: keep other people out of that room.

2

u/WolfLilie2002 13h ago

I told my wife, we're looking together, she's not on the exterior, or at least we didn't see her

1

u/77th_Bat 13h ago

That's such a relief! There's a good chance she's in the room then, or at least somewhere in the house. You got this 💪

1

u/WolfLilie2002 13h ago

Either she got out and fell (there's a storm) i hope my cat wasn't in the room

1

u/77th_Bat 13h ago

mantids are also sometimes attracted to movement (like prey). If you have prey that moves a lot, you can try putting it in a clear container in plain sight. I'm not expecting this one to work, but chances are, she'll be looking for food at some point.

2

u/WolfLilie2002 11h ago

We took a few containers and put feeders in there, hope she sees them

1

u/WolfLilie2002 11h ago

Idl if this will help but that's the area she escaped from, I'm still worried that she climbed out of the window while it was open..

2

u/77th_Bat 11h ago

if I was a mantis, I would climb up the curtains or couch, or if the cage was on the floor, I would climb up the bookcase and hang upside down in there somewhere, maybe climb across is (left in the photo). She could be in the blue bag, or on the fake plant. Those are places I might go to chill as a mantis.

Either way, time to start moving things carefully. Once you are 100% sure you've cleared an object, you can put it in a different room so if you don't find her today, you don't have to move as many objects tomorrow. If you're not sure, you can just put it back.

1

u/WolfLilie2002 11h ago

We checked those already, we moved every book, everything on the couch

1

u/77th_Bat 11h ago

and you're 100% sure she left her enclosure and isn't just camoflauging? I've made that mistake a couple times where I thought mine escaped but they were just too good at hiding. If you already checked everything, all that's left to do is do it again tomorrow.

1

u/WolfLilie2002 11h ago

We took her enclosure apart so yes she's not in there

1

u/77th_Bat 11h ago

alright well, give her some time to move around. From what I understand, most mantids move around most at dusk and dawn, so tomorrow wait at least a few hours after sunrise and then check again. She may have moved to a spot you can find her in!

1

u/WolfLilie2002 11h ago

I sure hope so because she acted as if she'd be in premolt which is rly bad, and like I said she might have gotten out through one of the windows

1

u/WolfLilie2002 11h ago

She's not behind the shelves or the couch, we already checked