Praying Mantids in your garden.

The first thing many of you are thinking as you’re reading this is something like the following. Praying mantid? I always called them praying mantises. Technically, you might have been correct, but mantis refers to a smaller subgroup in the order of insects called Mantodea and the insects in this order all have the common trait of what we would call “praying like hands.” No matter what you call them, they are an interesting insect to have in your garden.

While the term praying mantid might seem to identify them as a compassionate, caring insect, those two front legs have long, sharp spines and are used to capture and secure their prey. As a predator, they will eat other insects such as flies, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, and moths among others. In tropical locations mantids are larger than we are typically familiar with and can dine on frogs, lizards, and even hummingbirds.

Their stick-like appearance makes it easy for them to hide, so their hunting technique is primarily just sitting and waiting for a delicious insect to get a little too close to a mantid in waiting. Interestingly, they don’t appear to have any sort of bro-code since they are just as likely to dine on an unsuspecting mantid. But they also have to be careful about being eaten by other creatures as they are enjoyed by birds, spiders, bats, or even fish should they happen to tumble into their domain.

The story about female praying mantids eating the heads off an unsuspecting mating partner appears to be a slight exaggeration. While this can happen in the wild, this is not normal behavior. This bit of folklore apparently comes from experiments with mantids in captivity who might have not been fed properly. Either way, it does tend to reinforce the “predator” status of this insect.

After mating in the fall, a female mantid can lay hundreds of eggs. The newly laid eggs are mixed in with a foamy solution which provides a protective shell for the eggs once it hardens. While the adults die off pretty quickly, the eggs overwinter in this protective covering. When they hatch in the spring, they look like tiny little praying mantids and proceed through a development process called incomplete metamorphosis. There are three stages to incomplete metamorphosis: egg, nymph, and adult. Nymphs look like smaller versions of the adult insects but move through several different growth stages on their way to adulthood called instars. With each instar, they shed their skin and emerge a larger version of themselves until they are fully grown.

The other type of growth pattern for insects is complete metamorphosis. In complete metamorphosis, there are four distinct and different stages: egg, larvae, pupae, and adult. You are probably somewhat familiar with the lifecycle of a butterfly. This would be an example of complete metamorphosis with the pupae stage in the chrysalis from which the butterfly emerges.

Praying mantids are easily recognized by their long thorax (their neck), large eyes, and a triangular head. Some say they look like they are smiling, but for many insects that smiling face will be the last thing they ever see.

Praying mantids are unique in that they can turn their head from side to side without moving any other part of their body. In fact, they can almost turn their heads a full 360 degrees. This obviously makes it easy for them to keep on the lookout for an approaching meal.

Worldwide there are over 2000 types of mantids, but here in North America, we play host to 17 different varieties. Coloration varies which provides a bit of camouflage when hunting.

As gardeners, we like to separate insects into two categories: good bugs and bad bugs with good bugs being the ones who eat the bad bugs. While it is tempting to place praying mantids in the “good bug” category, this strategy comes with a caveat. Mantids are really indiscriminate eaters. Yes, they can eat some of the “bad bugs”, but they can also dine on the “good bugs” including pollinators. As for me, I lean toward placing them in the “good bug” category since they are not out there eating my plants, which the “bad bugs” tend to do.

Due to their ability to hide, you might have mantids in your landscape and not know it. One of the best ways to attract praying mantids to your garden is to keep your garden “insect friendly” and by “insect friendly” I mean minimize, if not eliminate your pesticide usage. Having a good quantity of insects should attract praying mantids since they like to just sit and wait for their food to come to them rather than tracking them down.

As for me, praying mantids are a welcome guest in the garden and are just fun to watch which puts them in my “good bug” category. See you in the garden!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: OK State Agricultural Communications