Discovery Exclusive Praying Mantis Encounter

by Discovery Channel

Product Features

• Dimensions: 12L X 12H X 12W inches

Product Details

User Guide [PDF]

• ASIN: B000O8P7YM
• Manufacturer recommended age: 8 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,674 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Raise your own praying mantises – and marvel at one of nature's most amazing carnivores. Habitat is made of netting to provide 360 degrees of visibilityMantis eggs shipped directly to your homeWatch mantises hatch, hunt, shed their exoskeletons and moreHand-held magnifying glass gives an up-close encounterIncludes padded tweezers for gentle handlingCool learning activities bring science to lifeUse the observation journal – just like real scientistsLearn first-hand about these fascinating insects as you raise your very own family of praying mantises.Receive a praying mantis egg case and optional food (fruit flies) by mail. Order information included. Eggs and food available year round. Continental US only.Safety warning: This product contains small parts that may present a choking hazard for young children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Family Project!!!, August 13, 2008

By 

J. Campillo "JLC" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Discovery Exclusive Praying Mantis Encounter (Toy)

I am here to buy our SECOND habitat. This habitat is so awesome. We hatched our Praying Mantis eggs in March 2008 and I am now trying to mate a male and a female so that we can do the process all over again. I need a second habitat so I can keep the male and female apart until they are nice a full. The egg cases can be purchased at Home Depot in the garden section in the Spring time (you don't have to mail away for them). Then, when the hatch, you call your local pet store and order nymph crickets, then as they get bigger you can give them flightless fruitflies (also at the pet store), and now, our little guys are BIG (about 5 inches long) and eat full size crickets. Our family has had a BLAST raising these amazing creatures. DO IT! Just make sure to do your research on how to create the best habitat... actually this habitat comes with a pretty informative booklet. Good luck!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Actually very cool, February 25, 2009

By 

Yogi Moore "YogiM" (Florida) - See all my reviews

= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Discovery Exclusive Praying Mantis Encounter (Toy)

Very cool, actually. The first egg case that came with the habitat did not hatch, waited weeks to re-order from another vendor selling on-line gardening supplies - the egg cases were MUCH cheaper and these did hatch quickly. Left the lid open the one night that they did hatch and had 200 baby mantes all over my kitchen, that was fun catching them indeed...all in all, you get a plastic habitat for the $$$. Do your self a huge favor...order the egg cases on-line from a gardening supply house, buy the live food at Petco, and keep them in a terarium.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mantis Fun, January 14, 2009

By 

Donna G. "Tea Princess" (Edmond, OK) - See all my reviews

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Discovery Exclusive Praying Mantis Encounter (Toy)

This habitat is lots of fun! My 8 year old is very into science and was quite pleased to find this under the tree last Christmas. After purchasing the habitat, you must then send off for the praying mantis is the cocoon. This takes a couple of weeks. Once you receive the kit, it takes between 10-14 days for the "babies" to hatch. I was quite surprised at the large number that hatched (around 60-70)! Imagine waking up one morning to 70 crawling bugs! The bugs are contained, but I suggest you purchase food or be willing to catch A LOT of bugs to keep the praying mantises from eating each other! (Yes this happened to us) and we still had some to "let go" a week or two later! My son took them to school and all the teachers were amazed, as they had never seen a habitat for praying mantis!