# catching mantis's



## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

Has anyone ever seen them in NJ? I got a spare 10 or 7.5 gallon tank and i wouldnt mind haveing one









could i use wood chips as substrate? or i could get this fake grass carpet, which would be better?

ill feed em crickets and mealies i guess and have a small water dish with a small "mat" heater...

but do you have any tips on catching them or where to look?


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

Substrate isn't very important because they will sit on twigs all day. I don't think mealworms are very good try crickets, locusts, moths and other insects instead. Can't you just buy one?


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## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

none of the shops around here sell em


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

Orchid bark works well. looks good and holds humidity.

i dont know much about catching them as they aren't native in the UK, but i guess you could just go bush-sweeping with a big net and hope you get lucky









sorry but pet hate of mine:
mantis=plural
mantid=singular


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## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

so they'd be more common in fields rather than decidious forrests?


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

shutter13 said:


> so they'd be more common in fields rather than decidious forrests?


 I don't know, i always think of them sitting on long grass or in hedges.


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

I grew up on the south side of Chicago. And as crazy as this sounds we used to catch them all the time around Midway airport. Of course back then there were some fields around the airport. So I would try grassy fields.
Now I live in the middle of nowhere and I find them on and around my house just about every day. I kept one in a ten gallon tank for quite a long time. Very interesting pets.
PM me maybe I can ship one.......


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2004)

I've found in NJ, mantises are not very common. The few that I have found were located in fields of tall grass, bordered by brush, woods, and swamps. Not a very common habitat here in North Jersey.









An example of this type of area is the brushy fields that line the access roads beneath powerlines (high tension wires?). Those areas are home to a tremendous amount of insects, especially when they intersect swampy areas. If you walk through there, you will see grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, frogs, snakes, and turtles.

When I used to forage in these areas for insects for my frogs, I would occasionally blunder into praying mantises.

Let me know if you need specific locations.


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## con man (Mar 7, 2004)

think of the least freguently visited are and ur bound to find more then one if its a grassy fields that only gets cut down 4-5times a year


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## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

how long do they usually live for?


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

about 9 months, a year tops


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

j_burf said:


> about 9 months, a year tops


 i thought they lived about 3 years.


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## Andy1234 (Apr 23, 2004)

they arent native to here in nebraska but our school counceler who is rich cuz her husband is a doctor orders mantis once every two years cuz her yard is basicaly all garden then she orders lady bugs once a year to help take care of bugs to


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2004)

Being late August, you only have a few more weeks to catch one. If you don't find any mantises, you may be able to purchse them.

The NY Reptile Expo (which will be held in a few weeks) often has a number of vendors selling invertebrates. Amoung the plethora of tarantulas, cockroaches, and beetles, you may find a few praying mantises.


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## Drunkenblade (Aug 15, 2004)

Soooooo Confused









If you want Mantis' Go to your local Plant nusery and Buy them :laugh: 
You can get a box/container with 2-3 mantis' eggs, which produce 50-1000 babies each...... no more than $10








There are care instuctions and the will usually hatch in 2 weeks.... once exposed to light and heat..... We feed them to our Chameleon babies....


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2004)

Drunkenblade said:


> If you want Mantis' Go to your local Plant nusery and Buy them :laugh:
> You can get a box/container with 2-3 mantis' eggs, which produce 50-1000 babies each...... no more than $10
> 
> 
> ...


 I did that once a long time ago. The babies were nearly identical to the parents, but they were extremely tiny. I couldn't imagine what to feed them, so I set them all free.

Someone suggested that next time I just let them cannabalize each other until they were large enough to eat fruit flies.


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## Drunkenblade (Aug 15, 2004)

the first time we hatched them they climbed through the mesh of a chameleon enclosure..... I was finding those little guys every where!!! yes we now just let them cannibalize.... baby Jacksons and veiled love them. I think they are alot cheaper than wingless fruit flies?

Here is a link to some kick a$$ Mantids..... I may pick a couple up myself








http://market.insecthobbyist.com/index.php?cat=5


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## oldnavycb (Aug 27, 2003)

lol i live in north jersey any feild u can find em...there all over!


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## PunkRockSkater39 (May 31, 2004)

mantis season in southern cali is in september so in about a week or two i should have caught a couple


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## mrodge (Nov 13, 2004)

yo theres a ton in the summer around chery hill


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

i live in south jersey and i used to find them all the time when i was younger, i see them here and there now, but not as much. im very rarely (pretty much never) in or around any woods anymore.


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

yo i live in central minnesota, do yall think i could find some around hurr in the wild this summer???are they very common???


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