#or the carolina mantid males

[rustiieldritch]

Favorite non mammalian animal?

praying mantids or centipedes

[onenicebugperday]

I'm from Pennsylvania and I want to identify mantises in my area. I've seen green, brown, and greenbrown ones, but I can't figure out what species they are! I know there are chinese and carolina mantises in the area, but all of the pictures look identical. Do you know their differences? :0

You actually have Chinese, Carolina, European, and narrow-winged mantids in Pennsylvania. They have quite a lot of differences between species, a lot more than I can easily break down for you here. European and narrow-winged mantids are the least common, but they’re definitely still there. You're most likely to encounter Chinese or Carolina mantids.

I would visit this page and click each species and view the photo galleries of each one and compare the differences that way. Identification takes a lot of practice, but iNat is super helpful, especially because you can use the filters at the top of the page to view just adults, just juveniles, just males, just females, etc.

Each of those species can be green or brown or combinations of the two, so color is not a particularly good indicator.

Some big differences that are easy to spot...

European mantids have black and white eye spots on the insides of their front legs:

Photo by eekmaddog

Adult Chinese mantids are the largest of any species you'll find in your area. They're in the same genus as narrow-winged mantids, so they look similar, but they have a yellow spot on their chest between their two front legs, seen right below the mouth in this photo:

Photo by blwolfe

Narrow-winged mantids have an orange spot on their chest instead:

Photo by keimwj

And though this won’t help you with males or nymphs, it is the easiest thing to spot about Carolina mantids - the adult females have wings that do not cover their entire abdomen:

Photos by jimbrighton and spookablemonster

Males are much narrower with wings that cover the whole abdomen:

Photo by mdolomieu1

Hope that was at least somewhat helpful! I used to think all mantids looked the same, too, but it really just takes practice and an attention to detail :)

[thegrandimago]

This is the 183rd installment of 'Since I've Been Gone'. Taken on the same day as the last post during my time with @americanconservationexperience, not only do you get to see my ugly mug (personal hygiene isn't so easy to maintain when camping, but the squinting is inexcusable), but more importantly I found a Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) and she is quite big. She was perhaps looking for a male to cannibalize. However, even more impressive is her cryptic coloration, which can be seen in the second photo while releasing her. #animal #animals #wildlife #texaswildlife #nature #fauna #imago #texasnature #txwildlife #txnature #insect #insectagram #insects #femalemantis #prayingmantis #prayingmantises #mantis #mantises #mantids #mantid #animalia #arthropod #arthropods #arthropoda #insecta #mantodea #mantidae #stagmomantis #stagmomantiscarolina #carolinamantis (at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge) https://www.instagram.com/p/CX1Mh-lrY6W/?utm_medium=tumblr

[bugsandnaturethings]

hi, its me again! i found a mantis in my yard today and decided to try and raise it.

pretty sure this is a male carolina mantis. im not sure how many molts he has left- hes about 1.5 inches long. i was wondering if you had any advice on that, and also on feeder insects and habitat requirements for this specific species- the internet is offering very vague and unhelpful information, and id be devastated if i ended up doing something wrong :(

That’s awesome!!! I have carolina mantids in my area too, as well as Chinese mantids. It looks pretty close to adulthood, and if you send a pic of it from the top I might be able to confirm the species! And if you send a pic of its abdomen from the underside (where you can see the segments) I can tell you if it’s male or female!

Their requirements are the same as their environment, which is however hot/humid it is where you live outside. But they’re also pretty hardy. They’d be fine in an enclosure at room temp, and mist it with water everyday so it can drink. Make sure the enclosure allows it to hang upside down from the top, with adequate space under it so it can molt well. You can put some sticks in there too in case it falls, it has something to hold onto. You can feed it prey caught outside, but you’d risk the prey having pesticides or parasites in it. Or you can get crickets from your local pet store.

Lemme know if you have any questions!!

[roastyscritters]

RIP to mama

Wild caught Chinese female who was mated to my male (named grandpa) this lovely girl laid three ooths and lived well past her time.

She died warm and peacefully of old age in her enclosure. A strong lady til the very end. Now we wait for spring to see if the ooths they had made together hatch! Guardians of the garden maybe? Chinese mantids are an introduced species and are very helpful as pest control along with the native 'Carolina mantis'. Mantids tend to interact well with humans. Friendly and gentle. Just dont go waving your finger in front of a hungry girl! Please do not harm these bugs nor let then scare you.

[galacticbugman]

Cannibalistic Insects

6 When you think cannibalistic creatures what comes to mind. Maybe sharks, frogs, and some lizards might come to mind but in my mind there are some very different insects that come to this guy. Some you might not even think are cannibals; but as for some others you might know or are familiar being cannibalistic. Some cannibalism may be just for food and to plain blank murder another creature but some times it is very vital for survival of a whole new generation; allow me to explain. 

When I say the word firefly what comes to mind besides the space western sci-fi show with Nathan Fillion as Captain Mal Reynolds. You might think country nights, collection jars, lights, and other things might pop in to your mind but these creatures may not seem like cannibals but they are. These beetles have the power of light or as we call bio luminescence. In this beetle’s body is a chemical compound that allows this Common Eastern Firefly and others to light up the night sky. During mating thousands gather and send signals to each other kind of like an old Morse-code of sorts. Females send signals and males respond. Many of the signals are used to attract mates however there are some females with an evil mind.

Some females will send signals like she is wanting a little romance in her life. However she is playing a deadly game where the responding male will not survive the night. He responds to these false signals expecting to find love at last however all is not what it seems and she kills and eats him. This is very common among these guys. It may seem strange but many insects are in fact like this. It is a strategy that some have taken to the extremes. It is all for food purposes but there are some insects that take this killing game to a whole new level. 

Dragonflies, the kings of the skies. These guys are constantly hungry in both the larval stage and in the adult stage. Many insects don’t partake in hunting for food when they are adults for they do not have any stomachs or gastric tracts which can process and digest food. Instead their purpose is to breed and ultimately perish so they can bring up the next generation. The dragonflies are the best natural bug zappers around next to bats. They can down more mosquitoes than any other insect. However some dragonflies like this Common Green Darner Female can take on other dragonflies and damselflies. There is one that I have not photographed that I am still hunting for known as the Dragonhunter. At around 3.6 inches nearly they are our biggest Dragon in Texas. They can go for many things their own size or larger. They have been known to prey on other Dragonhunters and even swallowtail butterflies. I have seen one that I posted on iNaturalist but think it retains to what I am talking about here. 

Here is an Eastern Pondhawk who had just killed a Checkered Setwing that was almost as big as she was. Even thought it is not a Dragonhunter the Dragonfly habit of eating your own kind is a common practice. With insects hunters become the hunted all the time. In the bug world you don’t who will eat you or when you will be eaten. I took this shot when I was out at Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park in Mansfield Texas. This is by far the most dramatic shot I have ever taken with a dragonfly but I have another one that I watched eat from beginning to end at the same park. 

Okay it is not my best shot but this one was taken at the annual Elmer W. Oliver Nature park that happens every fall. This time I was at the second pond photographing damselflies and the one I was focusing on got taken by this Common Green Darner male. You can see the Damselfly tail sticking out beneath him in the middle of this body. Even though smaller they are still in the family known as Odonata which means “toothed ones” in Latin. They seem to pick even on the little guys of their group but that is all part of nature’s checks and balances it even falls on the predators as well. It may seem cruel but this is nature’s way to keeping populations down and keeping the ecosystem healthy. 

Next is...

Okay how did this get in here??? Well actually I put it here for a reason. Praying Mantises may make it big in the memes and joke books department because the female is told to rip off the male’s head while mating. This is true but there is a perfectly logical reason for it. Let me discuss it with a different set of photos this one is silly... Next slide please. 

Take for instance these Praying Mantids known as the Carolina Mantis. When mating the wife does chew off the males head. I know I don’t have a photo of one eating another like I did for the dragonfly it would have made the explanation a lot better. Just stick with me on this one and pretend one is eating the other if you want. 

Is this just murder or is it something more? I will let that soak in for a minute.

I think of it not as a straight up heartless act even thought it is pretty violent but it seems that in some studies that in his sacrifice he give the female the extra boost she needs to give the nutrients to create the next generation. You see the father gives his life up so his young can survive. Some males actually get lucky and escape before she eats him. She doesn’t just go for the head but she will eat him whole. She may toss out the bits she doesn’t like but that’s how it goes in the bug world especially if you are Mantis in the mood for love. It is an interesting love story that has an interesting twist I think. It may seem strange and cruel but he is giving his young all he can to make sure that their survival is a success story. It may seem like an ultimate failure in the husband’s part but it is vital that he lay down his life in some cases. 

The bug world is wondrous but it is a dangerous world. It is full of predators and eyes looking at you from all directions. You never know when your number will be up. Next time I will be sharing with you a couple of insects that use wild weapons. As my buggy Halloween themed bonanza continues. Until next time I am Zachary the Bug Man. 

[bugsandnaturethings]

I was wondering if mantids can bite you when you hold them or not. And what that feels like if they can.

They can! They don’t usually do it to intentionally harm you though, it’s usually if they’re hungry or if you have moisture on your hand.

You can feel it more depending on the size of the mantis (so you’d definitely feel the nibble of a Chinese Mantis more so than you would a Carolina Mantis). It kind of just feels like, if you scrape your nail lightly against your skin. My male Chinese Mantis nibbled me for a good minute once though and it kind of hurt 😅 I was mostly just startled though lol