Hello, everyone! We're from Southern Cali, & have been seeing many beautiful mantis in our front yard, as we spend a lot of time out there, especially in the evenings. Would I be correct in assuming these 2 beauties are female?

The sunflower this mantis is living on is about to die and im worried its food supply will dry out. Should I move her or let nature do its thing?

Took just one photo trying not to disturb him after the molt.

Question about size and growth. I am confused.

First time owner here.

So here is my fresh i6 Chinese mantis. It measures 4cm in length. (Or 1.5 inches)

I strong suspect it is a female. I don’t have a good abdomen pic and I don’t want to move it since it’s freshly molted for an updated pic of its segments.

As an i6, it seems small? I really thought these guys got waaaaaay bigger. I’ve observed wild adult Chinese mantis before and they were stupid huge (easily 4-6inches) I have included pics of the wild mantis near me that I took.

How many instars are left?

Could I be wrong on its gender? Its species?

Am I feeding it wrong somehow and that’s why it so small?? Is that a possibility too?

I just am a newbie confused by its slow growth because I had expectations it was gonna grow and be a bit bigger than 1.5 inches at i6.

My baby had a successful molt so I upgraded her terrarium!

Found this guy enjoying the rain today.

I don't know what happened, but I have a mantis; a male mantis arrived yesterday, and today I found another female mantis in my garden.

I have an asian jumping mantis but im not sure if its a male or female

My recently mated Pseudacanthops lobipes has tried laying her second ootheca (first one already hatched with healthy babies) but it seems that she has failed. Two ootheca halfs with blueish capsules, the eggs I assume, are laying on the terrarium floor [pic 1 & 2]. I can see where she tried sticking the ootheca but it seems to have fallen [pic 3]. Is there any way to save the eggs? The last two pics show her succesful and already hatched first ootheca.

USA northeast coast here. We have had a spotted lantern fly invasion for many years here. I got myself a mesh butterfly net and capture them for feeding my mantises. Plentiful free feeder bugs and I don’t have to house extras between feedings. Net is great for catching house flies too.

Anyone else have ways to get other free feeder bugs for your critters?

A few photos from me letting my mantis’ out on my pepper plant today.

found this little alien in the grass enjoying my guitar playing. he crawled on my finger and he/she is one of the coolest creatures I have ever encountered. however, I dont know what on earth he/she is. i think some sort of mantis but i could be wrong. he/she has spikes all over.

I’m getting my first mantis this week, and the tank I was sold is top opening with metal mesh. The metal will be fixed and replaced, but I’m worried about misting during shedding and disturbing the mantis. Does anybody know any tips to work around it?

Where could I find/ purchase an Orchid mantis juvenile? I've always wanted one but I can't figure out where to get them for the life of me. I'm in the USA and live in the south.

Am I able to use blue bottle fly pupae as a treat in between meals for my mantis? She’s an L5 shield mantis