My First Beneficial Insect!

Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:17 pm

The baby mantis' have hatched

Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:25 pm

They're no prophet to me.

Eric

Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:37 pm

Cool!

Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:05 am

...cute!

Grow baby grow! :lol:

(and is that a fig leaf?)

p.s. We saw them hatch last year. Posted photos in this thread.

Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:12 am

Yes apple its a fig tree/bush I planted a few weeks ago. I found lots more of the baby mantis' around the garden. I read that they are insectivores and eat the bad bugs.

Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:30 am

Mantids are voracious hunters and fascinating critters. They are gentle enough to hold them in your hand, but adults will sometimes stand their ground against birds much bigger than themselves. If you've got the time, just watch them for awhile when they get bigger.

Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:23 am

I have mixed feelings about mantes. A couple years back an adult one had made itself a hunting spot on one of my humming bird feeders and I watched it catch one of the birds. The next day it was back for more. I eventually caught it and took it over to a friend's garden with no humming birds around.
Since then I keep a close eye on my feeders. Still I like them around to take care of other bugs.

Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:06 am

I feel stupid but I have to ask...

Can a mantis actually catch and harm a hummingbird? If so, that's incredible.

Tue Apr 12, 2011 1:23 pm

They can and they do. This is just one of many videos on the topic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDxwN3HEU5o

Tue Apr 12, 2011 3:16 pm

Rogue11 wrote:They can and they do. This is just one of many videos on the topic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDxwN3HEU5o

I try to learn something new every day. That seems like it covers a few days

Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:45 pm

that's incredible! I would have never thought it would have been a fair fight, but I would have went the other way. Then again, some hummingbird species are barely bigger than a dragonfly. So I guess that makes it more believable. But holy cow! I better keep my younger kids outta the garden!! :wink:

DOn't want them to become mantis food

Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:09 am

Praying mantis's are truly amazing critters. They really do fight off birds larger than themselves. There are many forms of martial arts based off of praying mantis's movements and reactions to threats. Here is a link to one: http://www.wahlum.com/ Just Google 'praying mantis martial arts' for more examples.