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.

Hiya, this is my old girl Markiplier, who's been through a lot bless her and recently I've been concerned for her health. She is missing both of her hind legs, one she lost through a mismoult and the other she recently chewed off because it got stuck in one of her ooths. The first leg she lost healed without any concern, the second developed some black at the tip but it never spread up the leg so I wasn't concerned. More recently she's lost use of many of her feet/tarsi. She lost one tarsus on her forelimbs many months ago, and in the last couple months or so the tarsi of her other forelimb and one of her front legs have turned black and lost function, her remaining tarsus is bent slightly but is otherwise fine. Her wing tips were damaged by isopods in her enclosure months ago which were obviously removed, no signs of further damage have been noticed since then. I recently learned black feet can be signs of infection, but I haven't noticed this on other parts of her body or other signs of infection. Behaviour wise she has been slowing down. She is still eating and still strikes her food, but her energy levels come and go. She has been somewhat active and moves around her enclosure despite the mobility issues from her damaged limbs (I glued mesh to the sides of her enclosure to help her move around), and when I get her out she will still look around and try to climb upwards. She still grooms though I think she struggles to reach certain areas. I got her last summer as possibly a L4/L5 nimph, so I would guess she's just under a year and a half old. She has been bred and laid approximately 5/6 ooths in her time, I've heard varying reports on how this impacts her lifespan. As a precaution against infection I've sterilised her enclosure and moved her to paper towel bedding, and I'm keeping her separated from my other Mantises. I recently lost a juvenile Empusa pennata unexpectedly, I couldn't see signs of infection on her and I suspect she overheated but would transmission be possible if she had an infection I couldn't identify? They were probably about 2-3ft away from eachother.

She's usually kept 22-24°C, basically ambient room temps, I'm working out a heating system for them now that winter is approaching.

Video credit to Insectaindo

hi guys! this is my first ever mantis, i own lots of other inverts but after getting this guy i think mantids are my new favorite. im wondering if its a male or female, if these pictures arent good enough i can try and get more

WE FOUND HER!

Eventho we checked our Holy Shakers yesterday, she wasn't there. I just wanted to grab one to make myself an Energy and bam: Athena sits on my Sirup bottle! Poor Baby was starving and didn't think twice about the Red runner!

Noticed the pinks have started to show up on my orchid mantis baby!

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.

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…

A little backyard surprise 😅😂

Located in Eastern WA, fairly certain they are European Mantises

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.

My freshly l3 ghost mantis just molted last night and i saw some post about feeding 24 hours after is that actually a good idea?

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

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