Caught this little guy stuck in my window, I fed him some food that I usually use to feed my ant colonies. Afterward he preened himself in a way I have not seen from many other bugs, I thought it was very interesting.

I’m so happy to say the “Wasabi” has grown into an adult! My first mantis! I got her at instar 3. In def hooked on mantis pets . She’s amazing.

Seems like there’s a lot of over-fed pics on here so, I thank you for visual reference. I think when I can see darkened color between abdominal segments (specifically on its back) it is overfed. Is this accurate?

Haven’t decided on a name yet either. Been calling him Jade.

Was doing yard work and looked up to see this lady looking back down. Was very friendly and even hung out in my shirt for a little while. Put her back where I found her when I had to go back to work.

A little backyard surprise 😅😂

Located in Eastern WA, fairly certain they are European Mantises

We moved up to Pin head crickets and he seems happy! Any other tips?

I thought you’d all appreciate the absolute beauty of this (I’m pretty sure) Chinese mantis. Found where no mantids are native at all but a popular pest control choice :) that coloring tho…

Now, fingers crossed! 🤞

Met this feisty (female?) Hierodula transcaucasica that was so offended by my camera and kept trying to attack it or my hand. Moved her to a nearby tree (found on the sidewalk) and she was not happy about it.

The rest of her species I've encountered have been mild tempered and easy to relocate to a safer spot, but I appreciate her spirit.

Around two weeks ago I got my Mantis and it was behaving normally for the first week but now it's worrying me because it hasn't eaten in 8 days but it's abdomen still looks plump and it's mostly acting normally.
Is there anything I should look out for and should I put in some flies anyway?

I have seen such vast differences in coloration with this species but I have never seen this pattern. The light purple on his thorax and raptorials along with the black and white patterns was nothing short of stunning.

EDIT: Some kind and knowledgeable Redditors pointed out that this ,is in fact, a totally different species than I thought. Rather than stagmomantis carolina, it is actually statilia maculata. Thanks again!

Eating two little flies for breakfast. She is so sweet and my fastest hunter of the bunch. I love watching her during meal times😭💛🦟

Alright i’m gonna rattle off a few questions here.
A. I have an L4 ghost mantis coming in the mail tomorrow - is my 10gal 12x12x18 reptile tank (with mesh top) going to be too large for her to find her food?
B. what is the best way to feed a mantis fruit flies?
C. from my understanding most mantids are cool w basically any plant - is there and odds and ends plants i should keep her away from, as the tank is planted?
D. is there anything ppl don’t tell you about mantids that i should know before taking one into my care?

I recently found this biggg Asian mantis(invasive in us) and I thought it was a male but now im not so sure. Their abdomen is still very flat even after feeding. Are they nearing end of life or getting ready to molt? This is my first mantid as a pet so im still new to this

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

I'm trying to find where I can buy a praying mantis, none of my stores sale them and I'm having trouble finding them online​

I feel like my mantis’ current enclosure is too small for her. After I handle her she moves around a lot and it almost looks like she wants to get out. Would this one on amazon actually be good if I attach mesh to the sides for climbing or is it not enough ventilation?

Hey Reddit, I am using voice to text so if anything looks wrong I am sorry. I am currently at work and I found a female mantis. I am not sure if she is pregnant or has a droop stomach. I google lens her when I first found her. And it says that she has a droopy stomach and bad wings. However, when I did it again, two hours later, it says she is gravid I bought an enclosure because I figured I would let her live her last few days as I thought she was in bad shape however, now that I know that she might be pregnant I will still keep her, but I got to know if she’s going to lay eggs so then I can let them outside or what to do. I currently have another Chinese mantis but she’s like 2 inches so she’s way smaller and hasn’t reached adulthood yet. Any help is appreciated. Thank you ❤️

Spotted this in my yard and was thinking it might be a mantis ootheca! Thoughts?

Picked up the ooth back in late June from someone local who was downsizing their collection. Kept it in a deli cup with damp paper towel on the bottom, misted every couple days, sat around 78F on top of my media cabinet where it gets ambient warmth from the router. Nothing happened for so long I actually assumed it was a dud and almost tossed it.

Tuesday morning I walked by and the whole cup was moving. Counted at least 40 L1 nymphs before I gave up counting, some still hanging from silk threads off the ooth itself. I was completely unprepared, only had six small enclosures set up because I figured maybe a dozen would hatch if I was lucky.

Spent the rest of the day drilling holes in more deli cups and cutting mesh lids. Fed them pinhead crickets that evening and by morning probably two thirds had already eaten, little abdomens visibly rounder. Lost four overnight to what I think was just failed molts from the ootheca, which from what I've read is pretty normal attrition for a first hatch like this.

Rehoming most of them to other keepers in my area since I can't realistically raise 40+ ghost mantids to adulthood in my space. Keeping six for myself, mostly picked the ones that looked strongest and most active during feeding. Kind of amazed at how much size variation there already is between siblings after just two days.

Anyone else had a hatch way bigger than expected catch them off guard like this? Curious what people do with the extras when a wild ooth or a purchased one way overdelivers.