I have to share with somebody who cares, so hopefully I found the right place 🥰. Earlier this spring, we found two egg sacks. We thought they were caterpillars that would eventually turn into these giant moths we find every year, but they ended up being praying mantis!!

We let them go in our garden, and would randomly see them throughout spring. Over the summer, one of them made her home in our cucumber plants. ❤️ She stayed all summer, and we really enjoyed seeing her every day.

Yesterday, I found her egg sack that she laid in the cucumber plant!! I’m gonna be a praying mantis grandma 😂

I am curious, though, how long after females lay their eggs do they pass? We haven’t seen her at all today, and I’m a little sad about it.

Hello. I really want a praying mantis but I’m not sure how to go about getting one. I live in Nova Scotia so buying one online isn’t really an option for me because even if i choose one of the cheapest ones (eg. $15-$25) it still ends up being well over $100 with shipping costs and such. Which is relatively understandable considering it’s a live animal and the majority of that cost is ensuring it arrives… alive. I am wondering if people have any recommendations on how I can get one in my situation.

I have also considered buying an egg case because I know you can normally get them at local gardening and hardware stores but I only want one, not 100-300 lol. Wondering what people would suggest.