One of the immature mantids.
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It was a frosty January morning when I arrived at my desk in the Gardener’s Supply call center to find a small box and a note. The box contained about 15 praying mantid egg cases; the note read: “These came in unsolicited; we thought of you. —Your friends in the Merchandising Department.”
Thank goodness I had a net enclosure to put the cases in: The praying mantids (Mantis religiosa) started to hatch right away, several hundred at a time. The process is dramatic, and many of the new creatures do not survive. When an egg hatches, it’s like a flow of water. The babies have not expanded and they are connected by an umbilical to the sac. They must break free and open their legs up. Many do not manage this feat and become tangled in the lines or with others. The tiny creatures are extremely delicate, so many die in the process.
In doing research online, I found details on how to care for these babies, including tips from people who raise mantids as a hobby and keep them as pets. For food, I went to the pet store to get some fruit flies. I also provided a water source in the form of cotton balls soaked in water. Had I tried to use a dish the tiny insects could have fallen in and drowned. The fruit flies also used this as a source of water. I didn’t even have to train any of them what to do.
When they matured, many of the mantids were were released in greenhouses to do what they do so well: pest control. I still have some at home. They love to cling to the sides of their containers and hang off the tops. The smaller ones still eat fruit flies while the larger ones have very small crickets.
It’s been scary and exhilarating to watch as the babies have gone through several stages on their way to adulthood. My goal is to raise the remaining insects and release them when food is available outside. They are fierce predators and will, in fact, eat one another. During a recent workshop on pest control, one of my pets proceeded to eat the head off another — that’s when I got the crickets.
To learn more about praying mantids, read the National Geographic profile. To buy your own egg cases, go to Gardener’s Supply.
Lisa, also known as “the Bug Lady,” works in the Customer Contact Center at Gardener’s Supply. When she is not on the phone helping customers, she is out helping bugs.
That was funny about the need to obtain the crickets! And fascinating that you raised these guys like that! I love that you are supporting natural controls like this 🙂
Plant Lady
I got an egg pod from my mom, she has tons at her house. I can’t wait for them to hatch out, perhaps they already did.
I bought some pods at the nursery and it was amazing to watch the babie emerge. I have a nice population in my yard, and they do a fantastic job of keeping the grasshopper population down.
A cute name for your article might have been ‘ Praying Preyors’ if there is such a word !
I might like to try this myself, I like the idea of natural pest control rather than chemicals in the garden. Besides the obvious effect on the environment, the chemicals are more work…you have to go out and apply them yourself, where with the predatory bugs, you just let them go and they go to work. Then I have more time to just enjoy the garden with a good book, or to plant new things!
Cynthia
LOve the article, thanks David for directing me in this direction! I too purposely hatched them a couple of years ago so I could keep one & release the others. They weren’t kidding when they say they hatch fast & furiously. They are extremely interesting to watch. My crickets were a little too big though, the mantid would run from it,so I would go out in the morning hunting for small bugs to feed him until I could get to the store, tiny ants work well too funny.
About praying mantis…..I love these insects. But to my surprise and afterwards…my shock…..and later…my caution…..these insects are incredible!!!!! At first they eat very small and tiny things….sometimes each other. But the beginning of my surprise was as they graduate to larger things like bees, spiders, moths, butterflies and grasshoppers…..they gain weight and if they survive the Spring from the wrens and other insects eating birds, they go to the next level! They eat lizards, many of my hummingbirds, larger insects and later…if they can subdue them……the wrens!! One Summer by the time of July, I saw one of my egg-releases of mantis…..on one of my palm trees and it was a foot long!! I couldn’t believe my eyes so I took a picture and showed it to the nursery that sold me the egg. They couldn’t believe it also. So the next Spring I released two mantis eggs in another location in my yard to see how much these creatures could eat and how big they could get. Again, after a month and a half, I saw mantis waiting by burden feeds in my yard and they were trying to catch the hummingbirds again. The mantis were only about 4″ at this point but the birds were afraid of them and wouldn’t go near the feeders. So I went on YOUTUBE and the Internet and Googled about these insects and what their limit really was. They will eat mice, small birds, garden snakes, lizards, and anything they can subdue!!!!!! And on YOUTUBE I saw them lunge at cats, catch and eat hummingbirds and a track larger snakes. So now I actually believe that if used as pets, these insects can be bred to grow quite large and monstrous and eat and grow incredible sizes!!! I love them for eating garden pests and here in San Diego it is usually warm year around! Just FYI