Product Description
These ferocious looking creatures eat a wide variety of insects: beetles, caterpillars, grubs, aphids, grass-hoppers, almost anything that moves. But they are so much fun that many people buy them for pets. And since they don't fly, they stay right in the area where they are released. Like ladybugs, preying mantids are completely harmless to people, pets, and the environment.
RELEASE: Put the egg case in a bush, hedge, limb, or anything more than two feet above the ground. The egg case may be inserted in the fork of a branch or hung with a piece of string or needle and thread run through the outside of the case. Hanging will help keep birds and rodents from eating the eggs in the case. If ants are in the area oiling the string will help keep them away.
LIFE CYCLE: Praying Mantids hatch out of their egg case along the seam that looks like louvered windows with some mud packed on top. They hatch in the Spring when the weather warms, the warmer the temperature, the sooner they hatch. Unlike most insects the Mantids do not hatch as larvae, they emerge as miniature adults, about half an inch long. They will grow through the Spring and Summer until they reach a length of 5 to 6 inches, shedding their skins several times.
While most insects are constantly searching for food, Mantids are content to stay in one area and wait for their food to walk by and then grab it with their strong forelegs. This is why they are good to use early in the season, before there are pest problems, and use other insects after pests arrive.
