Nowadays, it seems like anyone can have any kind of pet that fits their heart’s desires, even if it is happiest and belongs in the wild. Our social media pages are filled with breeders begging adopters to pay their $1,000+ adoption fees. Should wild animals or crossbreeds even be adoptable? When it comes to the praying mantis, they make great, easy-to-care-for pets. Doing your research before making the 1 – 2 year commitment to care for a praying mantis is essential. Some species have different needs than others.
Meet the Praying Mantis
Praying mantises or mantids are strange and wonderful insects that look almost as odd as they actually are. No joke, these strange insects look like they came from another planet. Let’s consider what it takes to make these little aliens thrive as pets.
Size
1.5 – 5.5 inches long, depending on species and sex.
Appearance
Depending on the species, the praying mantis can be bright green like the Chinese mantis or tannish with mottled spotting. All mantis species have the same body parts that operate the same way. However, some mantids are better at camouflage than others. The orchid mantis blends in perfectly with the orchid. They are typically seen when striking at an insect or otherwise moving.
Behavior
Praying mantises are solitary creatures except for breeding. They are cannibalistic with other types of mantids and others within their own species. The silent hunters rock back and forth to slowly creep up to an insect, then use their almost uncanny ability to stand perfectly still, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. They are inquisitive insects that spend a lot of time rotating their alien-like heads while checking out their surroundings.
Diet
When you’re a praying mantis, any insect, even your own species, can make a good meal. When mantises hatch, hundreds are pouring hundreds pour out of the egg case to begin their new and relatively short lives. Over time, if these related mantises remain in the same area, they will kill and eat each other, not knowing they ate a relative.
Lifespan
When kept as a pet, the praying mantis can live to the ripe old age of 1.5 years. In the wild, they are lucky to live a full year. Many do not even see a full six months!
Fun Fact
A praying mantis from Madagascar, Ilomantis ginsburgae, was named for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This makes perfect sense, given how important Ginsburg was to the women of the U.S.
Praying Mantis Species Found in the Pet Trade
Below is a list of some of the most unusual and interesting species of praying mantis. The most common mantis seen in North America are the Carolina, European, and Chinese mantis.
Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina)
The Carolina mantis is the only native mantis in the United States. It is primarily found south of New Jersey all the way to Florida, which means it can be found in the Virginias, Maryland, and the Carolinas. The mantis is typically yellowish-green-tan or brown with darker-colored spots. These mantids are between 2 and 3 inches long.
European Mantis (Mantis religiosa)
The European mantis is found in far southern Canada and the northern U.S. They do not like thick humidity and live in more arid places than others. They were first introduced to the wilds of North America by accident, as most invasive species start, in shipping containers filled with goods from Europe. The insect is large at 1.7 – 2.5 inches long and can come in any combination of green and brown colors. They are bright green, like newly grown spring grass. Initially, the European mantis was introduced to the U.S. as a means of pest control against the gypsy moth.
Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis)
The Chinese mantis is also very common in North America, specifically the U.S. They were introduced to North America in the late 1800s. They are twice the size of the only non-invasive praying mantis in the U.S., the Carolina mantis. The Chinese mantis can grow to be five inches long.
The Pet Praying Mantis
Keeping a praying mantis as a pet can be a lot of fun. They are unusual and charming at the same time. Their strange appearance is their best quality and why people love them so much. There are many companies online that breed an array of different praying mantis species. It is even possible to preorder when the mantis is still in the egg sac.
Praying mantises make great pets because they don’t require much, enjoy human interaction most of the time, and will not bankrupt you. They are a lot of fun to watch, especially if you have children. Their style of hunting is fun to watch, and they like watching you, too.
Climate
Most species of praying mantis are from warm, tropical areas, so it is crucial to keep their enclosure warm. A heat lamp is perfect for warming part of their enclosure. Never place the heat lamp so that it covers the entire enclosure. It could become too hot and kill your mantis.
Another way to safely warm the interior of the mantis’ enclosure is to use a thermostat-connected heating pad. Always use a thermostat with any heating so that it shuts off when the temperature is reached.
Housing
Creating an exciting enclosure for your praying mantis can be fun. Make sure to seal anything that’s wood with Mod-Podge, which is Dishwasher Safe. It is safe to use around insects and spiders when decorating the enclosure. Make sure everything is completely dry before allowing your mantis to enter it.
Praying mantises like to roam around, checking everything out as they slowly make their way. In the pet trade, spiders and mantises have become popular pets, and since both are arboreal, they can use the same type of enclosure. There are online lists that can walk you through building a terrific terrarium for your praying mantis.
It is extremely important to ensure proper ventilation. The sides and top need to have small holes for air. If you feed fruit flies to a small praying mantis, covering the holes with mesh or using a butterfly pop-up enclosure would work.
Diet
The small alien-like creatures aren’t picky eaters and enjoy crickets, Dubai roaches, flies, spikes (maggots), and some types of worms. Crickets can carry diseases, so raising or purchasing your crickets from a company with disease-free crickets is essential. Make sure you are feeding your mantis the right size bugs. They will let you know if there is anything they don’t like to eat.
Never catch insects from the outdoors to feed your mantis. Those insects may have come in contact with something that can hurt or kill your mantis. They are delicate, so it is best to stick to store-bought or personally raised insects. Big box stores, like PetSmart, sell crickets, but they can be contaminated, so avoid them unless it’s an emergency. Watching an arachnid or mantis die very slowly from a diseased cricket is a very slow death.
Lifespan
Enjoy their short but extraordinary lives; a wild praying mantis typically only lives approximately a year. However, due to the pet praying for the mantis’s safety when living with you, it can live for as long as a year and a half.
