Yesterday's uninvited guest
By The Horse
@TheHorse (219011)
Walnut Creek, California
October 10, 2020 1:17pm CST
there are certain times of the year when praying mantises visit me, but I've never charted when those times are. I can get very close to them (a few inches) and they won't move. They'll just watch me with their swivelly heads.
If I recall correctly, they have strong jaws and eat bugs, but I've never seen one eat. I think I read that females have larger abdomens than males. Earlier this year I got bold and picked one up so I could put it one a bush in front of my apartment. I've read that they can bite humans, but it didn't bite me.
Do you have praying mantises where you live? Have you ever picked one up? I guess I'll be doing a bit of Googling today. I assume they migrate, as I only rarely see them, but I don't know.
13 people like this
12 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
10 Oct 20
We don't have praying mantises in the UK but I have known people keep them in a vivarium as 'pets'. They do occur in the Mediterranean and can be found as far north as Southern Germany, I believe.
They only live for about a year so I expect that your 'visitors' lay eggs and die each year rather than migrate. Mostly they eat small insects but some are known to catch and eat hummingbirds.
The vampirish look of the mantis makes this clip even more scary. The Hummingbird did escape this time, but the mantis did kill another bird about a week later.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Oct 20
@TheHorse The mantis isn't particularly large, in fact it's a good deal lighter than the bird, I'd say. Yet it is able to catch the bird and hold on to it and would probably have started eating it, too, had it been left alone. Very scary! I guess that distress calls must have sounded much the same since the very earliest dinosaurs - high-pitched and repetitive.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (219011)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 Oct 20
Wow! Great video! Isn't it interesting that some things are (semi-) universal across the animal kingdom? You can tell that the hummingbird is issuing a distress call. It doesn't sound that different from a dog who's just been hurt.
1 person likes this
@stringer321 (5644)
• Kiryat Ata, Israel
10 Oct 20
Praying mantis is a strong bug.
It can eat many kinds of bugs.
How did you pick up the mantis?
Try to feed the Mantis with cockroaches. It can be interesting you will see how it uses his arms and jaws.
1 person likes this
@stringer321 (5644)
• Kiryat Ata, Israel
10 Oct 20
@TheHorse I would use gloves, I wouldn't like to pick up bugs with my bare hands. -_-
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@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
10 Oct 20
Yes we have them here in TN. I wrote about one a few weeks ago. But I have never tried to pick one up.
Was out snapping photos of the bluebirds and saw this praying mantis hanging out on the hummingbird feeder. Try to sneak up on a praying mantis, and you may be...
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (47370)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
11 Oct 20
I was visited by one about a month ago. It kept rubbing its swivelly head, as if it wasn't sure what it wanted to do.
@Tampa_girl7 (50292)
• United States
10 Oct 20
We do have them, but I’ve never picked one up. Glad that you didn’t get bitten.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (50292)
• United States
11 Oct 20
@TheHorse I don’t recall, but here in Mississippi I think they’re average sized.
@wolfgirl569 (106505)
• Marion, Ohio
11 Oct 20
I have never been bitten by one and pick them up a lot. Those feet do feel funny with the way they grip you.
I dont think the migrate. I do know the female rips the males head off after mating. 
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (178864)
• United States
11 Oct 20
Very strange. I haven't seen a praying mantis in decades; but a couple of other members have reported and photographed sightings. Maybe they are in large numbers this year. Great picture.
