My new hobby (image heavy)

[ShadowFyre]

I'm completely ignorant in this field so just to ask.. If a mantis escaped, could it potentially damage the ecosystem?

 

[Myke]

probably not. They would have to escape en masse, and even then the climates required for them would just kill them. not to mention they would be picked off by other bigger predators. They are mostly tropical species.even if they did spawn and survive from spring to fall, the fall and winter will just kill them off. they can't handle those temperatures at all, and if they laid eggs, the freezing will kill the ootheca because they aren't used to cold temps. the possibility is still there, but in terms of ecosystem damage I don't think it would. Mantids are use as natural pesticides everywhere. all mantids seem to eat the same stuff, other than a few specific species that tends to focus on roaches. if they escaped we would just have more exotic looking mantids that would behave the same way as the ones we have native to us. But again most liketly they wouldn't survive the climate. now Phasmids, those are a real problem.

 

[Myke]

also vulpes. sorry I didn't answer your question about the mantis who's making the flies kiss. That is a nymph of an orchid mantis. Hymenopus Coronatus. mine died recently. but I raised her from a baby. I miss her. I'm in the process of receiving some parimenopus davisonii. They are like orchid mantids but smaller, and come in yellow or green.

 

[DaggerV]

This is pretty boss haha. Might be something I'd be interested in when I get my own place.

 

[DCG]

I normally hate bugs, but mantids are prety cool
Wonderfull collection you've got there.

But, when importing mantids, who's got the most risk?
Seller, or buyer?

 

[Dynastid]

Ooooh! What an exciting new hobby! I've been into entomology since I was about 6. I have a small collection of preserved arthropods if you're interested in seeing or hearing what I have! I am mostly into beetles (hence my username "Dynastid"), but I adore all types of bugs. Those mantises are beautiful, I have to admit I'm jealous!

 

[Myke]

yeah Dynastid. Tell me all about your arthropods =) do you bugpin too? I pin my mantids when they die. DCG as far as importing them, it is Illegal. Most of the mantids I have are exotics but they have been bred here in the US so technically they aren't imported.
there's a grey line when it comes to the legality of the exotic mantis hobby. To have exotic mantids you need to have a permit, which they don't give you. If you ask them for a permit it's just grounds for them to come and inspect your insects which they will then stop on in front of you. So it's better to not deal with that permit. It's a small hobby and the feds have better things to do than to bust a bunch of kids with bugs. I think they know that mantids aren't really much of a threat. as far as who has the most risk when importing, As far as going to jail, neither have risk. the more risk would be the buyer though because you are spending a bunch of money to have a mantis shipped to you from europe or wherever else, and it can take some time, and they might not arrive alive. This isn't the seller's fault if the buyer didn't chose to ship EMS. If it's shipped EMS usually there's a live arrival guarantee, and if it arrives dead in this case the breeder will replace the specimen. if it gets stopped in customs, and your box never arrives, you can pretty much expect that the Feds opened the box, found the mantis, and most likely just killed it. Never heard of getting fined over it. Even major breeders, the worse that happens is they never get their box.

DCG I just noticed you are in europe! you have the upper hand! the mantis hobby in europe is huuuge! you guys have so many specimen and it's not illegal to import or order from country to country =) have fun! check out ukmantisforums.co.uk that is the european hub for mantis hobbyists to discuss buy and sell.

 

[Rydian]

I just thought to ask... do you pet them?

On a serious note, they don't seem adverse to your hand.

 

[Dynastid]

I sure do pin! I don't think I'd really have to worry about licensing. I catch my own, though I've only collected from Arizona (where I live) and Wisconsin (where my dad lives). I'm not an expert, and I haven't taken the time to identify everything I've caught, but if I have some untagged and you know what they are, just let me know. One of my bigger hobbies is more art-related, but I do share your interest in bugs.

So here it is!:

Spoiler

There is a dime placed in each image for size comparison.
I'm really sorry about the photo quality. I don't have a decent camera, just my lame camera phone, so please bear with me! xD

Image 1 Listed:

White Tail Dragonfly (2-Stripe, Female)
White Tail Dragonfly (4-Stripe, Female)
Neon Green Damselfly (Male)
(Unidentified sub-species) white leaf-mimiching moth
Variegated Meadowhawk
Platycerus Stag Beetle (Male)
Six-Spotted Tiger Beetles
Tiger Beetles
Dobsonflies
(Unidentified sub-species) Hummingbird Hawk Moth
Painted Lady Butterfly
Blind-Eyed Sphinx Moth
Diurnal Tiger Moth; Ctenucha species
Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly
Eyed Brown Butterfly

Image 2 Listed:

In this image, the first bugs that were pinned were damaged due to my brother dropping my case. Some of them were so severely damaged, they weren't worth keeping.

Harnessed Tiger Moth
(Unidentified sub-species) large Longhorn/Root Boring Beetle
Tarantula Hawk Wasp
(Larger) Stripe-Tailed Scorpion
(Smaller) Arizona Bark Scorpion--this little guy blew his cover by stinging me. xD
Wind Scorpions (One male, the other female)
Glorious Beetles
(Unidentified sub-species) clear-winged moths
Palo Verde Root Boring Beetles (One male, the other female)

As for mantises, we only get Disambiguation, or Praying mantises where I live. I would be incredibly excited if I saw anything like what you have!

 

[ichidansan]

this is a really amazing collection. I see 1 or 2 of the, I guess, "common" kind during the summer. I've even had one hitchhike on my shoulder. had a freakout for a second cus I thought it was a spider at first. I really like the spiny flower mantis that you have.

 

[DCG]

Too bad I have arachnaphobia...
I can't realy touch any insect like animal.... it's something like a instinct -.-"

 

[Myke]

woo lots of replies.
Dynastid, Awesome collection! I wish I could help you identify but I pretty much only do mantises and the occasional tarantula. Also you will never see any of the mantids I have in the wild here in the US. All the ones I have except for my carolina mantis and the two males, are exotics. You have to order them and they are not to be released in the wild. although we do have some pretty interesting looking mantids native to the US. For example look up the Texas Unicorn Mantis. You do art eh? My job is Art. I tattoo for a living. my sketchbook link is on my sig.


Rydian, not really. They don't like to be touched from the back. they tend to scurry, though I do have a couple that will let me do it. Anything from the back to them is a predator trying to eat them. No they don't mind being handled at all. if anything they like it. They don't really see us as predators. We are far too big for them for that. If anything to them we are another taller tree for them to perch on and get closer to the light which is where they wait for their prey. What I do to play with them is wiggle my finger in front of their arms, this makes them extend their arms and wiggle them with my finger because they are trying to get a hold of it to climb higher. It looks like a mini slap fight lol. Another thing you can do, but you must treat it like candy is feed them honey or a smooshed piece of banana from your hand. You can also get them to drink water from your hand as well. Or the normal feeding them by tongs and just watching them eat. When they are eating it almost seems like the whole world around them doesn't exist any more. you could probaly poke them and they woulnd't react. for the ones that do cool threat poses, I do piss them off once in a while just to see it. THey are gorgeous with their wings open.
and here's my last example of a threat pose, probably the coolest one in the mantis world
here's my idolomantis diabolica posing
TOUCHDOWWWWWWWWWN!

ichdansan: thank you =) He's one of my favorites too, too bad he died a couple of months back and he's now bug pinned. I couldn't find him a mate =(

On a lighter note, I have around 200 ghost mantis babies now.

I'm gonna just start throwing random mantis facts from here on:
Mantis random fact #1 Did you know that mantids have 1 ear and it's located in their abdomen? This ear can specifically hear the ecolocation the bats use to "see" where they are going. This is their way of protecting themselves from bats which are pretty much their main predator. Some species now have this ear as a vestigal ear. These mantids are more desert dewlling runners. So they have no more need for it.

Random mantis fact #2: Did you know that mantids have 3 eyes? The two on the sides give them a 360 degree view, if you look closely at their head you will notice a third tiny orb on their forehead. That's their third eye. That's used for them to see distance and depth.

 

[Myke]

sorry for the double post, but I figured I would add, if there are any redditors out there and want to see more from other people too, I made a mantis reddit it's r/mantids
see you there =) I'm petoly on reddit. if this is considered advertisement then I'm sorry feel free to delete.

 

[Myke]

new picture dump and a video
popa spurca: twigging, creeping, and looking scary

Hypsiocorypha Gracillis going WTF do you want?

M violaceus looking nice an shiny

Video of M Violaceus doing what apparently being terrirorial with each other. I have great reason to believe that instead of being a petty squabble, this might be some sort of mating dance.

 

[suppow]

control issues