Have you ever seen praying mantises group together? Probably not. Not strange, because these insects are solitary animals. This means they live on their own without the company of conspecifics. Praying mantises don’t even care for their young. They glue the eggs — called ootheca — on a branch and will carry on with their…
Are you an absolute beginner in keeping praying mantis and wondering what the best species is to start with? Well, then you are on the right page. Keeping praying mantises can be a lot of fun and they are truly astonishing creatures. In this article, we will list the best praying mantis species if you…
Whether or not you’re new to keeping praying mantises, this is an often questioned topic. However, the use of a substrate is partly dependent on your preference. In this article, we discuss if they actually need it in the first place. You can keep praying mantises perfectly without a substrate, but using a substrate has…
You probably like to tell if your praying mantis is a male or a female. When you find one in your garden, when you keep them as a pet or when you have newborns. Obviously, it is necessary for the purpose of breeding with your mantises. Placing two females together will not have a happy…
A praying mantis enclosure is rather easy to set up. Mantises are great pets because they are easy to keep and don’t have high requirements. But, you still need to think of some essentials to keep your praying mantis happy and healthy. If your praying mantis has an enclosure that is not suitable, you get…
The wandering violin mantis (Gongylus gongylodes) is one of the most fascinating looking praying mantis species that you can keep as a pet (and my personal favourite). Although this praying mantis species can be a bit more difficult to keep, with this care guide, you have all the knowledge to properly house and care for…
Many praying mantis species have some sort of wings. However, you see them only sitting and resting, waiting to ambush prey when it is in close proximity. But do praying mantis use their wings? Did you ever wonder if a praying mantis can actually fly? We will have a closer look at the wings of…
Curious what a praying mantis eat? Their strangely shaped forelegs already give us a clue. But knowing what they eat, would be especially needed knowledge in the case when you consider keeping a praying mantis as a pet. What should you feed them, and how much and how often would be best for feeding a…
‘Love to death’ gets a whole new meaning when you look at mating praying mantises. Males risk their life to mate with a female. This phenomenon is also called sexual cannibalism, also seen in some species of spiders, scorpions and octopuses, and is a well-known risk when you try to breed praying mantises. When keeping…
