Praying Mantis

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
In the last month I have relocated a couple, a really big one from the hood of my car in the garage to the backyard and just now a little one from the windshield of my car while it was sitting in the driveway to a tree.

I think these are the neatest bugs in existence, both let me gently pick them up from behind.
 

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
It must be the time of year for them and I think they are cool. I was heading into a meeting tonight in Solomons, stopped outside on the sidewalk to chat with some people, and one decided to land on my foot. It freaked everyone out when I picked it up and moved it into the grass. :lol:
 

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
Growing up in the 1960s there was a legend that to kill a praying mantis would have you shipped off to some scary gulag. The rumor was they were ultra, super protected insects. Another legend was that a dragon fly could sew your mouth shut if it got close enough to you. This was around the time of Woodstock, so that may explain some of the incorrect info.
 
Growing up in the 1960s there was a legend that to kill a praying mantis would have you shipped off to some scary gulag. The rumor was they were ultra, super protected insects. Another legend was that a dragon fly could sew your mouth shut if it got close enough to you. This was around the time of Woodstock, so that may explain some of the incorrect info.

The smaller version of a dragonfly is called a darning needle, so maybe there was some confusion in their doped state.
 

littlelady

God bless the USA
In the last month I have relocated a couple, a really big one from the hood of my car in the garage to the backyard and just now a little one from the windshield of my car while it was sitting in the driveway to a tree.

I think these are the neatest bugs in existence, both let me gently pick them up from behind.

I love your post. Praying Manitis' are awesome. I think of them as tiny, defenseless creatures praying to their god. You must be like me. Every creature I encounter inside, our outside of my house, I try to save. That includes spiders, flies, ants, mice, etc. I will not kill them. They are not hurting me; they just took a wrong turn. The latest rescue was a magnificent dragon fly in my dot's sun room. TIP to all. To catch creatures that shouldn't be where they should be for safety sake, use a Tupperware container upside down, and slide a junk mail stiff paper that is the right size under it, and let them out. Works every time.

I do want to let y'all know that skinks are toxic to cats, and maybe dogs, too. Specifically, the blue tail that is prevalent in SoMD. If they get in your house and your cat catches them, it is not good. It is hard to decide who lives or dies. We have, actually, ignored copperheads if they leave the property. Never had a copperhead bite of any kind while living in Calvert for 20 years. But, is suspected by my long time vet that my Graycee cat died at 16 because she got a skink. Just putting it out there.
 
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1stGenSMIB

Active Member
I love your post. Praying Manitis' are awesome. I think of them as tiny, defenseless creatures praying to their god. You must be like me. Every creature I encounter inside, our outside of my house, I try to save. That includes spiders, flies, ants, mice, etc. I will not kill them. They are not hurting me; they just took a wrong turn. The latest rescue was a magnificent dragon fly in my dot's sun room. TIP to all. To catch creatures that shouldn't be where they should be for safety sake, use a Tupperware container upside down, and slide a junk mail stiff paper that is the right size under it, and let them out. Works every time.

I do want to let y'all know that skinks are toxic to cats, and maybe dogs, too. Specifically, the blue tail that is prevalent in SoMD. If they get in your house and your cat catches them, it is not good. It is hard to decide who lives or dies. We have, actually, ignored copperheads if they leave the property. Never had a copperhead bite of any kind while living in Calvert for 20 years. But, is suspected by my long time vet that my Graycee cat died at 21 because she got a skink. Just putting it out there.

Uh oh...our cats munch the tails off but don't eat the whole thing...we have lots of skinks running around with their tails missing.
 

softtouch

Member
Uh oh...our cats munch the tails off but don't eat the whole thing...we have lots of skinks running around with their tails missing.
The tails don't have be munched off. They will disconnect them if caught by the tail. That is their defense mechanism. They will grow a new tail.
 
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