kpinnc 12,016 #1 Posted May 15, 2023 Love these little guys, though they get pretty big. My shrubs out front are loaded with thousands of them. Index finger shot just for size comparison. Never notice if you didn't look closely, like everything in spring, babies are everywhere! 3 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,456 #2 Posted May 15, 2023 Niiiiice. Little one. Them's the males. Females are the giants. Not super common up here. Might see just a handful a year. Sometimes none at all. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,159 #3 Posted May 15, 2023 Wow, li'l hatchlings. I usually have a few hatch, but haven't seen any yet. I was disappointed last year when they seemed to ignore the Thousands of spotted lantern flys. I had high hopes the mantii would help me eradicate the lantern flys....nope. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,548 #4 Posted May 15, 2023 You are lucky. They are very cool! Often, but not always, the females eat the males after mating... you'd think there would be less around if word got out? 2 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 12,016 #5 Posted May 15, 2023 (edited) 13 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said: you'd think there would be less around if word got out? Nope. Millions of men meet predators every year. Never stopped a one of us! Only a few of these mantis make it to be grown ups, but they get fairly big. The antenna in the pic below measures nearly two feet. So she's upwards of a foot long... And I leave the grownups alone! Edited May 15, 2023 by kpinnc 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,456 #6 Posted May 15, 2023 37 minutes ago, kpinnc said: she's upwards of a foot long WOW. Up north here a large female is MAYBE 4" 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,316 #7 Posted May 15, 2023 (edited) 13 hours ago, ebinmaine said: WOW. Up north here a large female is MAYBE 4" Second that here in RI. I trim my front hedges about every 2 weeks during the season - have to be REALLY careful as the girls are sunning themselves (along with garter snakes) on the flat top of the hedges.... Edited May 16, 2023 by ri702bill 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horse Newbie 7,069 #8 Posted May 15, 2023 1 hour ago, SylvanLakeWH said: you'd think there would be less around if word got out We’ve heard the word, and we still do it… 😆 2 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
