Carolina Mantid, Praying Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina)

Order: Dictyoptera (dik-tee-OP-ter-a) (Info) Family: Mantidae Genus: Stagmomantis Species: carolina Profile: 11 positives 4 neutrals 1 negative Regional... This bug has been reportedly found in the following regions: Vincent, Alabama Tolleson, Arizona Barling, Arkansas Deer, Arkansas Marion, Arkansas North Little Rock, Arkansas Sheridan, Arkansas Fresno, California (2 reports) Temecula, California Valley Village, California Bear, Delaware Atlantic Beach, Florida Aldora, Georgia Gainesville, Georgia Hayden, Idaho Nampa, Idaho Davis Junction, Illinois Nilwood, Illinois Oak Park, Indiana Des Moines, Iowa Derby, Kansas Benton, Kentucky Calvert City, Kentucky Ewing, Kentucky Versailles, Kentucky Bayou Cane, Louisiana Montz, Louisiana Cole Camp, Missouri Lincoln, Nebraska Maplewood, New Jersey Toms River, New Jersey Albuquerque, New Mexico (2 reports) Croton-on-hudson, New York Beulaville, North Carolina Clayton, North Carolina Concord, North Carolina Durham, North Carolina Gorman, North Carolina Henderson, North Carolina Mar-mac, North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina Wake Forest, North Carolina Winston-salem, North Carolina Zebulon, North Carolina Bucyrus, Ohio Kirtland Hills, Ohio Hulbert, Oklahoma Emmaus, Pennsylvania Summerville, South Carolina Copperas Cove, Texas Fort Worth, Texas Lufkin, Texas Pecan Grove, Texas San Antonio, Texas (2 reports) Danville, Virginia Keller, Virginia Penhook, Virginia Verona, Virginia Kalama, Washington Olympia, Washington Tenino, Washington Liberty, West Virginia Member Notes: Rating Author Comment Positive Sarahskeeper On Jul 30, 2006, Sarahskeeper from Brockton, MA (Zone 6a) wrote: They are fun to watch, they sway when they walk. They will eat almost any bug good or bad, even their siblings. Positive melody On Aug 8, 2006, melody from Benton, KY (Zone 7a) wrote: Adults can grow to nearly 3"long and are great predators, eating almost any insect it can catch. They have lightning fast reflexes, and can strike twice before it's prey has time to escape. One way to tell if your mantis is a Carolina Mantid is that the wings are shorter than the abdomen and do not extend beyond the tip. Found in meadows, shrubbery and gardens, this voracious hunter will eat any insect...even it's own mate. Positive joegee On Jun 25, 2007, joegee from Bucyrus, OH (Zone 6a) wrote: This is one of my favorite creatures. I have observed them in the wild in all phases of their development. I love finding a gravid female in the fall. I leave her alone and let her leave her egg case, hopefully somewhere on my bushes. Except for the lack of developed wings the babies are perfect little miniatures of the adults (nymphs). As a child I used to bring found cocoons into the house, but when I realized that I could not keep the babies alive I decided it was better to let them stay outside where they could develop normally. I have learned through the years that the best way to handle these insects is to leave them alone. If a juvenile mantid must be moved for some reason I find it easiest to encourage the little beastie to climb on my hand or arm with the touch of a guiding finger. Adults can be similarly persuaded. If you try to hold on to a mantid by grasping its thorax you're likely to get a painful pinch, and possibly even a small bite. You get what you deserve. :) These, and lady bugs are some of the best allies a gardener can have. If you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone, and they can even provide some fascinating (and dramatic) viewing. Positive purpledatura On Jul 24, 2007, purpledatura from Painesville, OH wrote: absolutely educational and fascinating bug. great for your garden too. its just too bad i see them so rarely around these parts. my garden could sure use a few to eat up the nasty ones i have hanging around! Negative 22miracles On Nov 8, 2007, 22miracles from Olympia, WA (Zone 8a) wrote: These seem to be rapidly producing at my sister's home. The egg encasements and the adult praying manthis are all over her fences and side of her unpainted barn. They particularly like a stack of windows against her barn. After googling, I will not want them at my home. They eat all insects--including butterflies and bees and even a hummingbird! When I contacted a person selling them on eBay, he said they were meant for vegetable gardens. Please realize that they will spread to nearby gardens where they may not be welcomed. I think they should be listed as a nusiance and dangerous pest! Please Google before you import them! Neutral nanaluvsflwrs On Apr 15, 2008, nanaluvsflwrs from Rogers, AR wrote: I have always wondered if there's a way to attract them to my garden. I have seen a few offers in seed catalogs and have been tempted to try ordering them but they are a bit pricy. If anyone knows about this, I'd love to hear. Positive joeswife On Sep 30, 2008, joeswife from (Debra) Derby, KS (Zone 6a) wrote: I ordered an egg sack and I had 6 mantis, one is now inside, pregnant and in my nursery, they do a great job of eating unwanted critters and so far my female has eten all the crawlies that came inside with my tropicals. I have a video of her and watched her eat a spider down there that was dropping down from a rafter. I love them! Positive Iceman2458 On Oct 14, 2008, Iceman2458 from Copperas Cove, TX wrote: I captured two of these this fall, one was a solid green color and one a mottled gray/brown, both were females with wings covering about 3/4 of the body. They both laid egg sacs (ootheca) while in captivity in my garage. I keep the egg sacs to film their hatching in the spring and released the adults which will die within 3 weeks of laying the eggs. I feed them crickets and honeybees, they seem to thrive on almost any insect. They are fun to watch and photograph. I have given one egg sac to local 4th grade students for their science class. Neutral mantislover On Jun 7, 2009, mantislover from Arden, NC wrote: i found the nest yesterday. how long until the babies appear? Positive raffieldgma On Sep 27, 2009, raffieldgma from Raleigh, NC wrote: I have been keeping track of this one and it is located at my work place in Durham, NC. I have watched her grow, mate and now she is about ready to lay her eggs. She has helped to keep the insects down. And considering It is in a wooded area next to a bog, this is saying a lot. They are very interesting to watch. She doesn't seam to mind me taking photos of her. The day I cought her mating, I was astonished at how long they stayed coupled together before they were done. This union took 14 hours. Positive DracoVolans On Dec 19, 2009, DracoVolans from Crestline, CA (Zone 7b) wrote: Not certain how often these little guys show up in south California, but I've had this lovely critter residing in my container-garden for over a month and a half. I haven't managed to catch her hunting, yet, or eating anything she's caught, but she seems to be a regular. I think she's gorgeous, and it was a treat to discover her on my Organ Pipe Cactus! Positive bungalow1056 On Apr 16, 2010, bungalow1056 from Winston-Salem, NC (Zone 7b) wrote: Mantids are just the coolest bugs around! I have them in my gardens every year. I found two egg casings early this spring. The first hatched 04.16.2010, dozens of them scurrying about and flying off to find their summer homes. Positive tardis On Jul 16, 2010, tardis from Albuquerque, NM wrote: These mantids are always welcome in my garden. I put out Chinese mantis egg cases a few summers but found out quickly that they hatch out later than the Carolina mantids and are almost all consumed as nymphs. This is fine with me because I have a bunch of hummingbird feeders and the Chinese mantids tend to hang out on them and snag and eat the birds. Neutral lachap2 On Aug 5, 2010, lachap2 from Versailles, KY wrote: Yellow Female Carolina Mantis. Appeared inside my screen porch in KY. Slowly texture on abdomen are raising, identifying her as female. Positive bamtuga On Oct 1, 2010, bamtuga from Durham, NC wrote: Praying Mantises are absolutely fascinating. I have done a blog entry about them with some nice photos: http://bambooturtle.blogspot.com/2010/09/praying-for-mantise... Neutral themikesmom On Nov 1, 2012, themikesmom from Concord, NC wrote: We also find these praying mantis bugs quite interesting; although they can be very aggressive. When my son was younger, he found one on a sidewalk and asked me if he could pick it up. What did I know, so I said yeah, go ahead and pick him up, im pretty sure their harmless as I think their endangered. After it pinched him, and my son dropped him, he preceded to chase my son down the sidewalk even though my son was 100 times bigger than him, I said shoe, go away to the mantis, who then preceded to try to chase me down and attack me too.. mwhahaha...I had to laugh at the rediculousness and hysterical site of a tiny mantis chasing a person down. Also after reading some of these comments I bet they would be really good to have around to eat tomato horn worms and tobacco moth larvae off tropicals and angel trumpet leaves and vegetables and other perennial leaves in the garden.

By indiana_lily By Sarahskeeper By Magpye By melody By kropit By LouisianaMark By LouisianaMark There are a total of 55 photos. Click here to view them all!