{"id":7829,"date":"2022-04-16T14:29:35","date_gmt":"2022-04-16T14:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keepingbugs.com\/?p=7829"},"modified":"2022-05-25T21:41:39","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T21:41:39","slug":"keeping-praying-mantises-together-is-that-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keepingbugs.com\/keeping-praying-mantises-together-is-that-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Praying Mantises Together [Is That Possible?]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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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 \u2014 called ootheca \u2014 on a branch and will carry on with their life. But when you keep praying mantises as a pet, can you keep two or more praying mantis together in one enclosure? This article explains if it is possible to house praying mantis together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantises are solitary animals that don’t like the company of others and therefore generally can’t be housed with two or more of the same or other species. A praying mantis is highly predatory and will cannibalize any conspecific close by. However, a few species will tolerate conspecifics and can be housed together<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it is not generally advised to keep praying mantis together, there are conditions in which you can house praying mantis in a communal setup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Can you keep 2 or more praying mantis together?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A praying mantis is not only carnivorous but a vast majority is also cannibalistic<\/a> \u2014 meaning they will eat others (even of the same species) when they have the chance. So the general advice is to keep praying mantis solitary. They enjoy being on their own and most species don’t tolerate any competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you just want to enjoy this beautiful and interesting species then I highly recommend taking only one and keeping it alone in the enclosure. Fancy a second specimen\/species? Then you should keep it in another enclosure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying mantis are famous for their cannibalistic behaviour and will literally fight until death when they come across any possible competition. When you keep two (or more) praying mantis in one enclosure will \u2014 sooner or later \u2014 almost always end in tears and one praying mantis that you don’t have to feed for a while. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what about those anecdotal stories of keeping praying mantis together. Well, there are some praying mantis species that can be kept in small groups. They still live a solitary life but can under certain conditions tolerate other conspecifics in close proximity. Keep on reading about those praying mantis species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some other insect species that can be housed together just fine<\/strong>
Most insects are solitary which means that they don’t need social interactions or don’t need the benefits living a group. They are not depended living in a group. That doesn’t mean that all insects can’t be housed in (small) groups together.

Fancy a insect species that can be housed in groups and tolerate each other? Then you should take a look at stick insects<\/a> or millipedes<\/a>. These two amazing species can be housed in groups or even with some (completely) other species. <\/span>Want to know which insects can be kept together? Check out our mix-and-match cheatsheet<\/a>!<\/div>