Customer Reviews

Praying Mantis Pagoda(R)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this for my six year old son on a whim. We had raised butterflies and he enjoyed the experience very much. The mantis kit was beyond expectation. It was an incredible hit. There is a learning curve involved, so be prepared.

When the pod hatches, you can be overrun with squirming baby mantises. We had over two hundred, and it's a tad shocking. I screamed out of shock... Oh my Goodness... look at all of them! But if you are creeped out, do not buy this kit. I let all but five go from our kit, as I had additional habitats and a butterfly pavillion to house them all in.

They became members of our family, and we loved our daily hunt for bugs. We used the cup the mantis pod came in as a bug catching jar- it's perfect. We'd sneak up on a fly on a leaf and close down the lid and release the fly in the habitat. It was easy. Our porch light was a beacon for moths which mantises eat. In the very beginning, when the babies are super tiny, they can be fed small morsels of wet cat food, tiny specks of food fed to them on the end of a paper clip. Yes it's time consuming, but they only need fed twice a day initially- no worse than a newborn.

Also be aware mantises need water. Do not put in a bottlecap of water- it is too big and they will drown. Simply mist their habitats with a spray bottle. They will drink the water that collects on the wall. Once they grow and molt, this will happen often, they will begin to eat live insects. You can feed the mantises aphids when the mantises are newborns but it is very challenging to find and collect aphids, so I used the cat food method. We kept our manitses until they were fully grown with wings. We even took our mantises on vacation with us.

We just let the last one go in the yard yesterday, and have taken great pride in being mommy to the mantises we've found in our yard this year.... Awww look.... there's another one. This is a kit we enjoyed beyond measure, and one we will repeat again and again. It is one that made a lasting impression, and brought joy to our summer. Thanks for the memories.

Great little educational project. I was getting worried that the eggs were not going to hatch. It took about 6 weeks but they did hatch and there were over 100 praying mantis babies. I do have to say that they need to be set free within a day or two as they start to die and eat each other. I tried feeding them very small bugs but that did not work, so I let the rest go. my daughter loved it. I am going to buy a case of eggs and do it again this year.

I bought this for my kids in May, thinking that they would have all summer to watch the mantids hatch and release them. When we sent away for the egg sack, we found that the supply was gone for the year and we would have to try again in January. I think that is an awful long time to wait for a child. When we sent the coupon in January we did get the egg sack, but I have heard other reports that these sell out as early as February or early March. Be prepared for long delays if you miss the window.

What a perfect house for a praying mantis! We collected a praying mantis that was just hanging out in our garage. After residing in a tiny insect house for a couple weeks, we upgraded to the Praying Mantis Pagoda! It's very easy to observe, care for, and feed your mantis in the pagoda. Our mantis just LOVES it! She loves it so much, she decided to lay her own egg sack at the top.. and once dried.. carried it down and placed it in the lil' sling/swing herself. We can't wait to see if it hatches! This is such an interesting and educational toy! It has kept our kids' interests (all 4 of them) for the past month!

the pagoda works well for its purpose, hatching and viewing mantis babies. I wish it had two sections so we could raise more than one, it seems large enough.....

I actually bought 2 of these. My grandson already had his eggs and in now waiting for them to hatch. He is very excited by this since he loves science and nature. I bought the second one for my husband and we are waiting for the eggs now. I can't wait for spring to put these in my garden. They are better than pesticides for your roses!

These arrived just in time for my newly hatched mantis nymphs. The design allows easy climbing for the animals and the zippered top (under the roof lid) allows access to feeding wingless flies etc. Because the sides are mesh, daily spray spritzes from the outside (so shedding can occur without death to the mantis) is an easy task.

These arrived quickly and I am very pleased. I highly recommend these enclosures for not just mantis but all kinds of insects.

The pagoda has housed praying mantis egg sacs, a wounded butterfly, rolly pollies and caterpillars at different times this summer. My 11 year old granddaughter has gotten my money's worth from it.

When searching for praynig mantis for my children, I found it very difficult to dicipher if the egg cases were INCLUDED with the kit. The answer is no. I was disappointed that upon receiving the display case, we now have to order an egg case, which is an additional 3 dollars for shipping and handling. The "pagoda" is exactly the same as the one see in "praying mantis kit", with the exception of the little plastic roof, that I can see disappearing soon as there is no way to attach it to the net casing. In retrospect, I would have gotten the cheaper item.

I WAS VERY HAPPY WITH THE PRODUCT...THE CHILDREN IN THE CLASSROOM WERE VERY INTERESTED AND EXCITED TO WATCH THE PROCESS.