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Location

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Date Posted

Connecicut , No. Stonington

i am growing regular pumpkins at my grandfathers house and have seen tons of praying mantis' this year... my question is are they good or bad?

9/4/2003 8:00:09 PM

Seattle, Washington

They are the good guys. They eat other insects, not your plant.

9/4/2003 8:02:06 PM

I caught some for the kids as 'pets'. Very ugly/curious bugs. We feed them grass hoppers and they eat a lot!

But they (kids) couldn't figure out why they were stuck together over the weekend and were really panic'd when the green one (female) was eating the brown one (male).

The females eat the males after mating. That would have been ok, but my 4 year old took a liking to "Clark" and she was a little tramatized to see him get munched!

OK, maybe not the best pets... but great to have in the garden.

ps...I am just waiting for the 'pets' to lay their eggs. After the weekend activities and the following feast... it shouldn't be long!

9/4/2003 9:07:18 PM

Oz

tons??? thats a wonderful sign of clean land.

if it wiggles or jumps,,the mantis will eat it.
one in my patch has a favorite spot near a pumpkin.
he/she wont move even when pushed!!
even if they have eaten,,,anything that moves gets its head
bitten off!
look them up on the net.
once you learn where and when they lay the egg pouch/s,,
you can help them make it through winter..any excess you can sell.

9/5/2003 12:43:50 AM

porterville,california usa

mantis` are the nuclear equivalent in the bug world. one of the best allies in our gardens. when i was a kid, the local newspaper had a pic of one holding a humming bird it had caught. some grow really big. 6" or so. their egg cocoons look like a small, tan, tootsie roll, usually stuck pretty good to something flat. preserve them whenever possible. each will hatch several hundred babies. :+]

9/5/2003 4:33:51 AM

[email protected]

In my youth, my Mom was a city girl recently displaced to the farm. Our neighbor gave her a Praying Mantis egg case for me to enjoy. We put it in a jar with nylon mesh over the top & waited. When they hatched, the young were smaller than the holes in the mesh. Thousands of babies all over my room. We made every effort to transfer all of them to the fields. But I can only imagine how many got smooshed in the final cleanup effort.

We live & learn. Great asset in the garden though.

Steve

9/5/2003 8:26:21 AM