# This a true predator



## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

this is my praying mantis








gotta love these guys
they are one mean mofo's when it comes to food


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

warning gruesome kill shots


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

taking the legs off so it cant move


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

the cricket crying


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

size comparison shot


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## killum (Jun 3, 2004)

tight pics did you catch it or buy it and if you bought it how much????


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Great pics, #'s


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

killum said:


> tight pics did you catch it or buy it and if you bought it how much????










i found i in my shop 
sittiing on top of a battery charger
and the assholes at work wanted to kill it
so since i had an extra 10g laying around already planted i decided to take him home and fatten him up


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## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

awesome pics. praying mantis are great pets


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## User (May 31, 2004)




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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

They are amazing pets, I had a couple a while ago. I woke up one morning to find this guy munching on a fully grown hissing 'roach, unbelivabley strong!!

Here's my old guy eating a cricket:


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

j_burf said:


> They are amazing pets, I had a couple a while ago. I woke up one morning to find this guy munching on a fully grown hissing 'roach, unbelivabley strong!!
> 
> Here's my old guy eating a cricket:










thats sweet
what species was it

and what species is mine ?????????


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

Go outside one night with a torch and a net and catch a big fat juicy moth to feed it, its great watching them catch a flying insect out of the air!


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## elduro (Apr 9, 2004)

awsome! I always enjoy watching them hunt in the Discovery channel


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

Death in # said:


> j_burf said:
> 
> 
> > They are amazing pets, I had a couple a while ago. I woke up one morning to find this guy munching on a fully grown hissing 'roach, unbelivabley strong!!
> ...


Mine was (RIP) a dead leaf mantis, _deroplatys dessicata_ and i think your's is a green mantis, _Mantis Religiosa_


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

j_burf said:


> Go outside one night with a torch and a net and catch a big fat juicy moth to feed it, its great watching them catch a flying insect out of the air!










will do
and if i catch a big one ill take a vid


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

I had a little green one while back and it kicked ass. They're hard to find in the shops round here so i can't find another. It could kill a locust its own size with ease, they have been know to kill and eat an entire hummingbird too and someone filmed it, i wish i could see the video.


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## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

j_burf said:


> They are amazing pets, I had a couple a while ago. I woke up one morning to find this guy munching on a fully grown hissing 'roach, unbelivabley strong!!
> 
> Here's my old guy eating a cricket:


 that mantis looks awesome. wish i could get one here


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

Can yours fly yet? mine never got the chance becuase my dad killed it by moving it out of his way onto a windowsill in the sun.
I have just looked at the pic again, are there any twigs or plants in there?


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## Red Eyes (Nov 25, 2003)

Nice pics!







I read years ago that if you wanted to control the number of insects in your garden to order through gardening magazines some praying mantis eggs and leave them in your garden and then when they hatch ... they will get rid of all the unwanted pests. I don't know if they would still be available.


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## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

Red Eyes said:


> Nice pics!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 that is very true. my neighbor has them all over his garden (which is where i got my old one







). and every year they lay eggs and there are more the next year to get rid of the bugs.


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## Peacock (Feb 23, 2004)

i love preditory insects.......

beautiful specimen!


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## SLANTED (Dec 7, 2003)

That mantis totally rocks. How big is it?


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

i want one now, now i cant decide between the tarantula or one one these

somehting else will pop up to fuk up the deiciion later too bet


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## Liquid Snake (Jun 12, 2003)

Dood that is ownage! I would love to have one of those guys, take good care of him


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

:laugh: lots of questons to answer ill try my best



> WolfFish Posted on Aug 17 2004, 05:51 PM
> I had a little green one while back and it kicked ass. They're hard to find in the shops round here so i can't find another. It could kill a locust its own size with ease, they have been know to kill and eat an entire hummingbird too and someone filmed it, i wish i could see the video.


yes they do eat small birds and lizards 
wish i would that video sounds awesome



> Red Eyes Posted on Aug 17 2004, 06:09 PM
> Nice pics! I read years ago that if you wanted to control the number of insects in your garden to order through gardening magazines some praying mantis eggs and leave them in your garden and then when they hatch ... they will get rid of all the unwanted pests. I don't know if they would still be available


yes they are still availble
go to gardening site and they sell eggs buy the hundreds
and thay are great to have in a garden



> SLANTED Posted on Aug 17 2004, 06:36 PM
> That mantis totally rocks. How big is it?


about 5-6" i havent measured it yet



> WolfFish Posted on Aug 17 2004, 06:08 PM
> Can yours fly yet? mine never got the chance becuase my dad killed it by moving it out of his way onto a windowsill in the sun.
> I have just looked at the pic again, are there any twigs or plants in there?


mine hasent flown yet 
and there are 2 plants/stems in there 
they werent in the tank when i took the pics
i wanted some nice clear shots
he usaully hangs under the bigger plants leaves and jumps the crickets from there


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## blackpirhana (Jan 24, 2004)

There is a species, like j)burfs, that is called the African Walking stick. At the reptile show I went to they are $10. They are almost illegle in CA, but they haven't made them ilegle quite yet.


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## Kory (Jun 5, 2003)

Great pick up man


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

I'd guess it's a her and not a him (a lot of the males get eaten by this time of year). Sadly, I've kept these and they age rapidly. What you have isn't a religiosa, it's a Chinese praying mantis, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis. That dead leaf mantis is sweet, I'd like to hear more on how they are as pets.

It's always amazed me how mantids aren't a huge hit as pets. Look at some of the mantids of the world (this first one I've never even heard of! ).


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

And then this one is the classic beauty, an orchid mantis...


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## BoomerSub (Jun 23, 2003)

mr.freez said:


> somehting else will pop up to fuk up the deiciion later too bet


 Like this?

-PK


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

acestro said:


> And then this one is the classic beauty, an orchid mantis...


 They do look very nice, but they stay quite small and are one of the more demanding species.


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

i've been reminded of how cool they are so i am going to set up some tanks. Where can i get some oothecas in the UK?


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

thanks everyone

and boomer we need some kill shots from that badass


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## Guest (Aug 18, 2004)

WolfFish said:


> i've been reminded of how cool they are so i am going to set up some tanks. Where can i get some oothecas in the UK?


I don't know about the UK, but in the US, I see the egg cases for sale at garden stores in the spring and garden supply mail-order catalogs. The newly hatched babies are surprisingly small. I couldn't imagine what you would feed it.

When I used to forage around some swampy, grassy fields for grasshoppers for my frogs, I occasionally would blunder into some large praying mantises.

Daeth#'s, great photos!


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

BoomerSub said:


> mr.freez said:
> 
> 
> > somehting else will pop up to fuk up the deiciion later too bet
> ...










thats cool but i like the blues and greens in my bugs

like the tarantula i m think about its kinda blue i think it was called a colbat something rather


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

j_burf said:


> acestro said:
> 
> 
> > And then this one is the classic beauty, an orchid mantis...
> ...


 With ya there. What is your setup for the deadleaf mantis?

Also, what is their life expectancy?


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

mr.freez said:


> BoomerSub said:
> 
> 
> > mr.freez said:
> ...


 Ya your talking about the Cobalt Blue tarantulas. That spider is mean as hell and is usually recommended for an experienced tarantula keeper. Here is a pic below. Very beautiful.


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

acestro said:


> j_burf said:
> 
> 
> > acestro said:
> ...


 http://www.mantisuk.com/variety/deadleafmantis.asp
couldent find the life expentcy though


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

What a cool link. I'm guessing the U.S. can't get a lot of those mantids.
The tarantula is awesome as well!


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## Lonald (Jan 10, 2004)

Atlanta Braves Baby! said:


> mr.freez said:
> 
> 
> > BoomerSub said:
> ...


 I wouldnt feel safe knowing that thing was in my house







, it looks awsome tho


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

acestro said:


> What a cool link. I'm guessing the U.S. can't get a lot of those mantids.
> The tarantula is awesome as well!










i checked all over
and only uk sellers


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

Ace,

we kept a few Madagascan Dead leaf mantids once,(sorry forget which species)
They did quite well on the usual fare of crickets and eachother,

Typical enviornment for a Mantella, Brookesia worked very well,
Moist, humid and dark.

I have not seen them commonly available commercially,
Some do offer Orchid and african mantids,
very rare though to find these in good shape.

Few are offering egg cases of these species, very unfortunate
as much work needs to be done with these insects.

I'm in the process myself of trying to locate a source for some odd 
Madagascan mantids. If I do sucessfully get them
I'll definitly be spreading them around







to those interested.


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

Atlanta Braves Baby! said:


> Ya your talking about the Cobalt Blue tarantulas. That spider is mean as hell and is usually recommended for an experienced tarantula keeper. Here is a pic below. Very beautiful.


really how hard is it to care for them?? whats so different from any other??

i'm off to research now









they do take alot of care wow i was hopein it didnt need so much humidity (80%)

i would like to find one that could take a room type of humidity but i could deffinetly

get a heat pad under half the tank.

now i got to find one thats still blue like that one but less humidity









the cobalt does sound cool with its temperment guys sound rowdy


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Polypterus said:


> Ace,
> 
> we kept a few Madagascan Dead leaf mantids once,(sorry forget which species)
> They did quite well on the usual fare of crickets and eachother,
> ...


 That's very cool. Keep us informed!


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

acestro said:


> j_burf said:
> 
> 
> > acestro said:
> ...


 The set-up was just the same as with most other mantids. I just had a 5gal tank with some branches, compost for a substrate and misted it daily. Just remember to keep good ventilation. I also had a small heatmat under the tank, but im not sure how necessary that was.

The lifespan is about 9 months, depending on how much you feed them.

I've got most of her old shed skins, i'll; post a photo sometime.

I think someone mentioned sexing earlier, it really easy to tell. count the number of segments on its abdomen. If there are 8 its a female and I think its 5 for a male. basically, if its not 8 its a male
















While im talking about them, let me dispell the popular myth of a female having to bite off the males head for them to breed, its not true. If you separate the pair as quickly as possible ofter mating, the male will be ok and you should get babies.

I fed my babies on fruit-flies, and they loved them. Bloody pane in the kneck to work with though!!

I'm supprised its so hard to buy mantids in the US, they are one of the most commonly avaliable insects here in the UK.

I'll stop talking now, gotta go collect my A-level results, eek


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

Polypterus said:


> Ace,
> 
> we kept a few Madagascan Dead leaf mantids once,(sorry forget which species)
> They did quite well on the usual fare of crickets and eachother,
> ...










def. keep me informed


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## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

dude thats fcuking awesome!!!!! too bad they're endangered in NJ and illegal


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

Was trying to hunt down some of my Madagascan forest floor mantid pics,
Not finding those yet, but found this one I trully love

Carolina mantis Vs. Monarch butterfly

This pic cracks me up, as My boss was obsessed with how pretty all the butterflys
were at this site,the numerous Monarchs in perticular, I only took this photo.

True example and proof "Nature is a real bitch"


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

Here is another Carolina Mantis pic

just one hanging out on some Goldenrod.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Polypterus said:


> Was trying to hunt down some of my Madagascan forest floor mantid pics,
> Not finding those yet, but found this one I trully love
> 
> Carolina mantis Vs. Monarch butterfly
> ...


 I guess those toxins don't affect mantids!


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

those are some great pics
im glad i posted pics of my mantis


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

> I'm supprised its so hard to buy mantids in the US, they are one of the most commonly avaliable insects here in the UK.


Where from? I got mine from easyexotics.co.uk and had to pay £20 p&p. Why are they hard to buy in the us when you can just go into your back garden and find one? I suppsoe thats only in a few areas though, but if they can captive breed enough in the UK then i'm sure they can in the US.


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

WolfFish said:


> > I'm supprised its so hard to buy mantids in the US, they are one of the most commonly avaliable insects here in the UK.
> 
> 
> Where from? I got mine from easyexotics.co.uk and had to pay £20 p&p. Why are they hard to buy in the us when you can just go into your back garden and find one? I suppsoe thats only in a few areas though, but if they can captive breed enough in the UK then i'm sure they can in the US.


 £20






























P&P from easy exotics (faunology as its now known) is £5.99. I think you must of selected the shipping option for reptiles and amphibians which is £19.99

a few suppliers:
http://www.mantids.net/try.htm
http://www.acheeseman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
http://www.bugsdirectuk.com/ I think these ship worldwide for only £5.00, might be worth it for you americans.
http://www.bugzuk.com/

these are just a few, but i know there are more out there


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

Thanks for the links, i will deffiantely be getting some now. How many do you get from an eggsack? becuase they are £15 and i was wondering if thats worth the bother of feeding the tiny things.
Thanks again








btw i thought this one looked awesome


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

Exotic Mantids are not commonly available here in the US due to lack of
interest, there is just not much of a market for them.

The Native and Introduced species are actually very common and easy to get,
just not at the Pet stores. Go to any good Garden suppy store, you can get egg cases in spring quite cheap.


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## aaron07_20 (Apr 23, 2004)

acestro said:


> And then this one is the classic beauty, an orchid mantis...


 Wow that is awesome..we only see the green ones around here..every two weeks I see one..

Death in #'s im pretty sure they're illegal to keep in captivity..but hey no1 will find out..


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

aaron07_20 said:


> acestro said:
> 
> 
> > And then this one is the classic beauty, an orchid mantis...
> ...










so were many other species of animals i have kept as pets


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

acestro said:


> And then this one is the classic beauty, an orchid mantis...


 now thats beautiful...


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

aaron07_20 said:


> Death in #'s im pretty sure they're illegal to keep in captivity..but hey no1 will find out..:nod:


 They are not Illegal,

And come on, you can look that up just as quick
as I did with a simple google search.


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## aaron07_20 (Apr 23, 2004)

Thats not what I saw on animal planet..they said preying mantis's were illegal to kill and keep in captivity because they are endangered (or threatened I forget) But idk you may be right..and you are..just looked it up and for some odd reason you are allowed to keep them in captivity..you may as well kill them if you are gonna do that..


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

There is an old urban legend that it is Illegal to kill or keep a
mantis, I have always found this interesting,

good idea so I'm not 
about to disagree, but you can keep them, I'd prefer more people
keeping them over the old 60's legend, Really cool insects.

it's not often you can say cockroaches are cool except when 
mantids come up.


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

Polypterus said:


> There is an old urban legend that it is Illegal to kill or keep a
> mantis, I have always found this interesting,
> 
> good idea so I'm not
> ...










so it is a urban legend
i always heard that
at least its a good urban legend


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

Polypterus said:


> it's not often you can say cockroaches are cool except when
> mantids come up.


lol, very true!!

Its hard to believe such different looking insects are so closely related, i'm not complaining though!!


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## indecisive (Apr 1, 2004)

I was on a tour in mexico, in the back of a large truck with a canopy for people to sit in, it just so happens that the forest road we were on was too small for the canopy and I was getting showered by leaves. long story short a bright green mantis fell on my leg, I shook him off and he then attempted to attack my sandal. My sandal attacked back and he lost. It would have been cool to have as a pet though.


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## WolfFish (Jun 30, 2004)

Do they still bet on mantis fights in thailand and other countries?


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## oldnavycb (Aug 27, 2003)

I see mantis's all the time i was never aware they make such sick pets! im gunna have 2 look into gettin 1...whats care 4 1 look like?


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

FeedingFrenzy said:


> I see mantis's all the time i was never aware they make such sick pets! im gunna have 2 look into gettin 1...whats care 4 1 look like?


 10g tank
dirt and some plants 
mist daily 
feed crickets and other anthropods


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## BoomerSub (Jun 23, 2003)

Death in # said:


> thanks everyone
> 
> and boomer we need some kill shots from that badass


 I don't have any kill shots, but I will post some closeups of the head and mouthparts. The animal in the picture perished several months ago, I forgot to move its cage out of the room when I was painting the monitor cage. I still kick myself over that one. Still, I'll go through my archive and try to find some good ones.

-PK


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## BoomerSub (Jun 23, 2003)

The thread with the pics I mentioned can be seen here.

-PK


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## Serygo (May 17, 2004)

Very nice!!!


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