Orchid Mantis (The Mating)

[ReptileHabitat]

Good tactic. Feed her, and let him do his deed so she doesn't eat him. :)

[AleakimOkibi]

My goodness XD Clicked this thinking the two pink flowers were the mantids (just came from an Orchid Mantid vid)... The male is tiny :P

[cannoir]

and he is dinner too !

[seanrodden32]

lol knew the male would be smaller but thats a really big difference in size...was the breeding ok?know this species isnt hardest to look after but breeding/hatching the ootheca (egg sac) can be hard with this species..

[MyrAge219]

can you have an orchid mantis as a pet? do they bite and are they harmful to humans? btw, where do you get these cool insects?

[noobrider100]

@MyrAge219 If those are the sort of questions you are still unsure about, then you need to do a lot more research before you buy one.

[SpeedTyper101]

omg i love this species of mantis!

[Kaotixkitty]

really glad you gave her her dinner before you let them mate!

if any one finds or knows of a breeder in the u.s. let me know.

[Silweror]

@T3V4 because breasts are all fat

[bluliite]

Wow, i didn't realize there were so many different kinds of mantis'. So, did you like save the little guys life?

[TheDrawer4life]

how come in the bug species almost every male is smaller den da female

[utterbeastage]

brilliant job , how many hours do they eed to stay attatched ?

in some species its about 20 :|

[KachuaOnWoW]

good thing he got to her while she was already eating...

[thefemalemantis]

@KachuaOnWoW the males will often bring food to the female as a distraction before mating. the only reason the female eats the male is because she wants the nourishment for the unborn babies... Unfortunately for the male, he's most often the closest meal.

[mantispre]

wow the male is sooo small in this species

[MeglostweightwithDDR]

Yup, and the female usually eats the male after mating, that's why the camera guy gave her a bug to eat before they mated.

[MusicaEsVida2010]

she turned around and looked at him when he jumped on her

[OpWo45]

mantid females commonly need to immediately consume massive amounts of nutrition which enables them the strength to endure the grueling egg laying process...

for many species the male mantid is the handiest hardy meal available... in other species of mantid,the female does not eat the male at all and he is part of the whole reproductive cycle

[Edelmina]

Part of the whole reproductive cycle? what a novel idea!

[OpWo45]

it is rare to find mantid males that participate in the reproductive cycle beyond fertilization of the eggs and nutrition for the female - numerous species DO exhibit male participation in the reproductive cycle beyond mere fertilization... some species exhibit male participation as more of a partnership as evidenced by the penguin; in the case of the seahorse, the male is a primary caregiver of the young as well... these traits of male participation even occasionally extend to human males

[OpWo45]

not all species of mantid females eat the male afterward... so sorry to disappoint the popular mythos.

[CTback]

Then why was the female eating that bug instead? Must be to distract her while the male finishes mating with head intact.

[desertbat55]

aaaawwww. I was hoping to see some black widow action.i.e her turning round and biting his head off, after which he can continue mating and live for abut 2 days until he dies of starvation.