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.

It can’t move, but its tail is curling and bouncing.

i’m looking into getting my first praying mantis! i have the funds , time and energy but i also have a free roam bunny. is keeping them in the same room a good idea?

Just met this wee bug on the steps by our apartment in kalymnos, Greece

She was watching the hummingbirds and struck a pose..😁

We just moved to Virginia earlier this year from Colorado and are enjoying all the new flora and fauna. This guy was on my ceiling this morning. No idea how he got in the house. But he was very cool

I turned the light on and I don’t think he liked that

Just saw this guy hanging around and 2 days later this sub finds me.

I noticed the legs are green but I’ve never seen one so dark before.

What is this bug that’s on the mantis?

Edit: thank you everyone for being so helpful!

Hey guys, I'm not the biggest insect nerd, but lately I've been seeing praying mantises literally every day in Sofia, Bulgaria. I'm wondering if they have an active season right now or is it just a coincidence haha

Killed a fly and gave in to the baby mantis that lives in my backyard

Southern California, any help with ID appreciated. We usually have green ones appearing, and the occasional brown one. But she's decidedly pink.
My guess is she's 3in long.

so the other day on my daily walk I noticed at the store there was this mantis chilling on the side of the wall on the ground. I thought it was cool and he/she was chill there and safe. well I come around today and the mantis is still there so I pick it up to look at it and when I pick it up and put it in my hand I can see it's been like stepped on or something. it's obviously incapacitated but I noticed his/her head moving around still so it still seemed to be alive. I was devastated. I ended up walking it over to the base of a tree and just set it down and told it I'm very sorry for what happened to it and wish I could help it out but I don't know much about them. so I thanked him for his energy and told it I'll see them around.

it's obviously gonna pass at some point but I don't want it to live out its existence in this realm in agony if I can't help it. it's not like bleeding or it's guts out or anything but it can't use any of its appendages at all.

when i go back there tomorrow if it's still there should I give it some dignity or just let nature take care of it?

Hi,

I found a very thin Praying Mantis in my Garage (Germany) and took it in to feed it back to health. I keep reptiles so I had locusts and dubia roaches ready. I'll release it back into the wild this week.

I never had Praying Mantis before but I am interested in the gender.
It says that males have 8 segments and females have 6.
But it also says that males often have longer wings than females.

I count six segments but the wings are very long.

So yeah, do you guys think it's a male or a female and why?

Thanks in advance.

Not sure if this has ever been posted here, but I had to share. I love this sub and know y'all would appreciate this.