rss
Swaziland Mantis
The mantis with an unusual pattern on its back is Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii, I raise them myself. Attached is a L4 nymph of the same species in its threat pose. Feel free to crop the image.
Ian
Thank you so much Ian,
You have single-handedly identified all of our unidentified exotic Mantids. Next time we get one that stumps us, we plant to contact you. Thanks again.
whats this bug? walking stick?
It looks like a walking stick but it has wings and only 4 legs. Could this be something else? I found it on my house this afternoon. I live in Ocean Springs, MS.
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
This appears to be a Grasslike Mantis, Thesprotia graminis, a winged male. It is a southern species that is often confused for a Walkingstick.
Baby Mantids
Hi Bugman!
I spotted this wonderful phenomena yesterday in our backyard and took pictures – just hatched baby praying mantids! I wanted more information about what they eat and found your wonderful website. I noticed you have plenty of adult pictures and egg casings, so I thought you may appreciate some baby pictures. I spotted what I believe was probably mum about 3 weeks ago. She was brown and about 20cm long. I am hoping these babies hatched in the right season. We are in autumn now in Australia – will they be okay? Regards,
Renae
(Perth, Western Australia)
Hi Renae,
Thanks for the great photo. As long as you don’t get snow, and we don’t believe you get snow, the young mantids should be fine.
Praying Mantis Egg Case
Hi Bugman,
I thought that you would like this picture of the egg case that I found in the woods across the street from my house. How many praying Mantis nymphs do you think will come out of this egg case? I live in Wayne County Michigan. I love your website!
Thanks.
Jacob Barnaby Age (9)
The Barnaby Family
Hi Jacob,
Several hundred young mantids will emerge from your Oothica when the temperature is correct.
Another Indian Mantis
Similar to Rohan’s Pink Mottled Indian Mantid which I found in your site is this beauty I found outside my door in Chennai, Southern India, last night. I very much regret, having been something of an insect lover all my life, that India has turned me into a mass murderer, and that I am using UV killers to despatch the many, many mosquitoes that otherwise make my life hell. It is interesting though, that the one on the landing outside my door quickly became part of the local eco-system: on day one it was full of bodies. Ever after it has been full of ants! Hey guys! New meat shop just opened up! This fellow (or lady?) too, seems to have realised that it is a good thing to sit near to catch things that fly to it. How about the length of that neck? How about the leaf-like detail on the legs and head? Utterly wonderful! I’m calling it Leaf Mantis: got a proper name for it? Just been told about your site. It’s fantastic. I’ll be back! One more question: what is the difference between a bug and a beetle?
Thank You!
Nick H.
Chennai, India
Hi Nick,
Thanks for your great letter and beautiful photo. Sorry, we don’t know what species of Mantid you have. Exotica is often very difficult to properly identify because of the dearth of information available. Beetles have complete metamorphosis and chewing mouthparts. True Bugs have incomplete metamorphosis and sucking mouthparts.
Identify this Indian mantis
Love the site. I’m in Madurai, South India, and mantids are very very common here. It’s quite commonplace to see 3-4 different species in the course of a day. However, i have never seen a mantis such as this. This mantis was spotted late morning, hanging from a clothesline. It was about 3 inches in length, not including the antennae. As you can see, the body was mottled pink and green. However, I have never seen a mantis with such feathered antennae, which should be quite obvious from the pictures. Could you identify this mantis?
Rohan
Hi Rohan,
Though we can’t give you a species name on your mantid, we are pleased to post the images. Perhaps someone will write in with an identification. Some tropical mantids are bright pink and mimic orchids and other flowers.
Update (04/27/2006)
I have a feeling that the other unknown indian mantis, the pinkish one, is a color variant of a member of the Family Empusidae, and the genus Empusa. However, without detailed pictures of the nymphs, I’m not sure I can tell the species. My guess would be species pennata, but I’m not sure if they are found in India. It’s a male and its unusual coloration is probably a product of its environment (I’ve found even domestic praying mantis species have some active color mimicry capability after each molt) humidity and temperature also play a role. Incredible pictures, I hope this helped somewhat. Regards,
Ian
Update (06/15/2006)
The Indian mantis (the pink, feather-antennae one) is almost undoubtedly a color variant of a mantis that can be found at http://www.museumkiev.org/photo/empusa.jpg (the label is in Russian, I think), Empusa fasciata. Hope this helped,
Dylan Juedeman
Update (06/16/2006):
Hi the pink mottled Indian mantis is Empusa fasciata. They look very similar to Empusa pennata but live on the opposite side of the Meditteranean Sea.
john morfitt UK
Preying Mantids
I recently came across these pictures which I had taken with my digital camera in October 2005. I live in the pinelands in southern New Jersey and was excited to find these Preying Mantids on my mother’s front porch. They sat still for a very long time, and didn’t seem concerned at all with the ogling and maneuvering I did in my attempt to get some decent photographs of them. The strange thing to me is the fact that there were three of them involved (hard to see in one of the pictures), which I assume to be two males clutching one female. Maybe one fellow is waiting his turn? They appear to be very patient creatures… more patient than I since I didn’t have time to stick around and see if she left any survivors.
Shari
Hi Shari,
Thank you for the great photos. This is the second Mantis Threesome we received this year, but the first submission were Mantids in captivity.
mantis news
Hello!
We just found your site and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am sending you some pictures of our mantises from this past year. Believe it or not, we have two that are still alive and kicking into 2006! One is about 2 inches long and the other is a giant mantis about 4 inches long. This year our smaller mantis laid 8 egg sacs and the larger one has laid 3 giant sacs. My daughter is a big mantis fan and has kept them for pets for the past few years. This is the longest we have had them survive. Most die in Nov or early December. Every year we learn new things. This year we had two males and one female and wanted to see what would happen with two… it was very interesting! As you can see in the picture, both got on her back and hung out there, waiting their turn, so to speak, and it actually looked as if they were communicating with each other while waiting… funny. It was hard to get a picture with the two of them but I did my best. Thanks for your site!
Christine and Elena
Hi Christine and Elena,
Thank you for your wonderful New Year’s message. Your photos are a fabulous addition to our site.
mantis news
Hello!
We just found your site and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am sending you some pictures of our mantises from this past year. Believe it or not, we have two that are still alive and kicking into 2006! One is about 2 inches long and the other is a giant mantis about 4 inches long. This year our smaller mantis laid 8 egg sacs and the larger one has laid 3 giant sacs. My daughter is a big mantis fan and has kept them for pets for the past few years. This is the longest we have had them survive. Most die in Nov or early December. Every year we learn new things. This year we had two males and one female and wanted to see what would happen with two… it was very interesting! As you can see in the picture, both got on her back and hung out there, waiting their turn, so to speak, and it actually looked as if they were communicating with each other while waiting… funny. It was hard to get a picture with the two of them but I did my best. Thanks for your site!
Christine and Elena
Hi Christine and Elena,
Thank you for your wonderful New Year’s message. Your photos are a fabulous addition to our site.
Christmas Tree
Last night we saw what we thought were nymph praying mantis all over our living room near the Christmas tree. We bought the live tree 3 weeks ago and have had it decorated in our living room since. We live in Harrisburg PA, and over the last 2 days the temperature has risen 10°. We decided to take the tree down today since we found at least a hundred more. We put them in a glass jar with holes in the lid. I’ve always been told they were good luck and beneficial. My question is now, what do I do with them? I don’t want to kill them and it is too cold to put them outside. My father has a horse on a farm and is willing to take them. I am sending a picture, too, although it isn’t too clear. Thanks, I’ll wait for your response.
Paula Werner
Hi Paula,
We have received about 10 similar letters, but yours is the only one with photos. Obviously, it is too cold to put them outside. You are correct that the indoor warmth caused them to hatch prematurely. If no other food source is provided, they will eat each other until only the most vigorous survive. A possible winter food source could be fruit flies, Drosophila, availabe in biological supply houses. They are used in biology classes and to teach genetics. Also, tropical fish breeders feed them to some fish. They are easy to raise.
Butterfly type?
Hi there,
its the start of winter here in Ontario and while walking along a creek the other day I found this on an old surveying stick. Its about 2.5 inches long by 1.5 wide and 1.5 deep, pretty fat for what I’m guessing is a butterfly pupae. It was found near Orangeville, Ontario if that helps at all. Sorry for the dark photo but it was more ‘toffee’ colored than the pic shows and quite scaly. Thanks. A great site that is really fun to scan through.
Andrew G. Bruce
Hi Andrew,
This is a Preying Mantis Eggcase and in the spring, several hundred mantidlings will emerge.
mantis
Can you please identify this mantis for me. The photo was taken 11-16-2005 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thanks. It is probably about 3 inches long.
Ron Evans
Tulsa, OK
Hi Ron,
This is a female Carolina Mantis, Stagmomantis carolina. The mantis is far more wide ranging than its name implies.
