anyone else get praying mantis?

[blindbaby]

i live in tacoma, wash. and a few days ago, i held a green praying mantis. very interesting guy. or gal. i placed it on my outdoor jack herer. today, while munching some tacos at a local pub, i asked aroound. and yes, more people lately have been seeing these critters in their gardens. the net says in eastern wash, but lately more in western. and its october! so, where are they numerous? what states? ca? the midwest? id like to raise some, if possible. cool pets. i saw a pic online, of a big one, with a hummingbird in its clutches! chow down! lol. anyway, thanks for any responses.

 

[Carmarelo]

I usually see a few in my garden each year, in Northern California.

 

[mariapastor]

I usually get em every year and if I don't I buy a cacoon with hundreds of em.

 

[blindbaby]

wow! online? in a pet store? id like to get some. why, im not sure...lol...

 

[mariapastor]

They eat anything that feast on ur plant. I actually got em in my local nursery. But I'm sure u can buy em online

 

[Rottedroots]

That's a cool insect. It sure would be nice to have a couple of 6.5 foot versions guarding my garden from two footers.. you can buy mantis, ladybugs as well as a few other beneficials online but the old joke is how do you train them to stay home. Flying insects have a habit of doing just that.

 

[bigblockhead]

We had a huge hatch of Preying Mantis in Central Calif foothills. They are a beneficial insect. There is nothing better than bugs that eat bugs.

 

[lokie]

I see them not as often as I would like.

When I was 9 we found some egg casings in a bush. Not knowing what would hatch,
I put them in a jar and waited.

about 3 months later I got home from school and all of my worldly
possessions, bed and night stand too, were out in the front yard.

WTF! the casings, 3 of them, had hatched.
if you did not know before i will tell you now
mantis egg casings hatch about 300 nymphs each.

My mom freaked, there were hundreds if not 1000's crawling all over the house
for days. She never let me bring insect larva inside again. lol

 

[mariapastor]

They are slow crawlers and tend to stay in we're there's is food and if your plant has bugs they will stay if not they will hunt there. They are very territorial and will stay. I had one that took care of two plants and jjumped from plant to plant. Interesting pets.

 

[superstoner1]

i had to laugh when i read the op, just a few days ago i found a praying mantis while at a sons soccer practice and it stayed on me for about 15 mins just walking around my hands and arms. very cool creature and a fierce warrior.

 

[mwooten102]

I bought and hatched 7 eggs in my garden this year. last year I did three and found 4 or so big girls when harvesting. You're probably just seeing the overflow from someone elses seeding.

 

[indcolts77]

I caught one at my house and moved it to my grow...it stood for awhile but heat made em wilt one day and he was gone...next year im buying a case...they're real friendly creatures!

 

[blindbaby]

yes, but if they run out, then u have to feed the lil buggers. i mean, thats just me. they are cool. i would not want em hungrey. maybe they would be better on the outdoor plants. ill bet anyone with bud worms, which i dont think we have here in western wash, anyway, they would have to be killer!!!

 

[blindbaby]

i have also heard, that they kill just as many benificial insects, as bad ones. in the case of say, the honey bee, this would not be a good thing. i watched two videos, of one killing a hummingbird, one a mouse. and one video, of a pet one in a kitchen, and the fellow hands it a sliver of chicken, that it accepts, grabs, and devours. sweet. look out, bud worms.

 

[Rottedroots]

Mice and hummingbirds! That was funky enough for me to break out my copy of " National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders" and the most common ones are the European and Chinese mantids. One escaped captivity and the other one was released as a beneficial insect because the Gypsy moth population was exploding. It didn't work very well. Ha Ha. Apparently the Mantids are so cannibalistic that they never became numerous enough to make a difference....

Just in case we were becoming too nerdy with this shit that I should point out that "the adult female often captures and devours parts of her mate even as he continues to transfer sperm" That my friends is wrong at so many levels.

Who started this thread and what the hell for. I need to know how to stop bud rot/mold.

 

[lokie]

Who started this thread and what the hell for. I need to know how to stop bud rot/mold.

WOAH dood. everyone wants what OP has not what you got.

 

[Homer13063]

I had 1 in each plant.

 

[intenseneal]

I found one on my habanero plant a few weeks ago. I stuck her in my green house to help control unwanted bugs. She stayed in there for like 2 weeks but is gone now. They are great pest eaters.

 

[mwooten102]

last year at harvest I found 4 of the big ol bastards when I was trimming... they'd just be like *boom here I am .. put me back outside.

 

[Homer13063]

They are great pest eaters.

So great that beneath where they would stoop I started finding these strange red things stuck to my buds. That was when I realized that they were grubbing on my ladybugs! They were so freakin' fat & happy I don't think they made a dent in the real pests... But they are great to trip out on while under the impression!