Each year, farmers buy mantid egg cases by the thousand to help reduce the numbers of harmful insects in their fields. Rearing baby mantids offers a unique opportunity to observe the stalking, capture, and feeding behavior of a carnivorous insect. Egg cases can be collected during the fall and winter in almost any vacant field and the young hatched indoors for observation. The cases should be kept in a refrigerator or freezer for storage and only brought into a warm area about three to four weeks before the time of desired hatching.
Preparation for Hatching
Baby mantids need their living quarters set up well before they are expected to hatch. When they hatch from their eggs, there will be fifty to a hundred and fifty very hungry, 3/8 inch long babies that look much like their parents. Premature hatching can be a traumatic experience for the mantis grower unless plenty of food and a large rearing chamber are provided. If they hatch in an open room, there will be ant-sized mantids everywhere. If they hatch in an aquarium, the first prey they will encounter will be their brothers and sisters, and the result after three or four days will be a few large young stalking each other around the tank. It is normal for baby mantids to eat each other, but in a large area, they can move away from each other and only a handful get eaten by their siblings.
Preventing Cannibalism
The ideal setup for hatching and rearing baby mantids is a mesh net enclosure with holes no larger than one sixteenth of an inch. Vinyl window screen on a wooden or plastic frame is ideal. The enclosure should be about three feet tall by three feet high by one foot deep with a 1 foot square door in the front. Individuals can be transferred to aquaria or cages made of petticoat netting later when they reach a length of one inch or more.
Several hanging screen pieces and/or one or more low-light requiring hanging potted plants such as medium philodendrons should be provided to increase escape surface area inside the cage and reduce contact between the young.
Heat and Moisture
A 40 or 60 watt incandescent light source placed just outside the cage netting is essential to provide sufficient heat and light for any plants.
Mantids need water, but will drown if required to drink from a bowl. Providing a moist sponge in a dish (make sure any exposed water is covered) and misting plants and sides of their cages every day will ensure they have an adequate source of drinking water.
The Early Days
When the babies hatch out, they will distribute themselves throughout the cage, reducing the incidence of cannibalism. Provide young mantids with small prey: ants (a few at a time) or a strain of fruit flies that cannot fly would be ideal. Supplement with small crickets or tiny mealworms purchased from a pet store. Place the crickets or mealworms on the floor of the cage in a nine or twelve inch cake pan with a dusting of whole-grain uncooked oatmeal or hot cereal and two or three small spinach leaf pieces (to provide moisture to the food animals) on the bottom. Replace the leafy vegetables every day. Crickets and mealworms should be kept in the pan for a couple of days before putting them with the mantids.
Rarely, a few dozen wasps will emerge from the case. These result from eggs that were laid in the egg case shortly after its deposition and the larvae eat the mantis eggs. These wasps do not sting people, but do reduce the numbers of mantids. Luckily, they are somewhat rare and do not exterminate the mantids completely.
As the Mantids Grow
When the mantids are an inch long, small to medium sized crickets and mealworms (also pre-fed with cereal and greens), small moths, and larger flies are good food items. Very small pieces of raw meat moved nearby on a string may also tempt them to eat.
When the weather becomes warm, mantids can be set outdoors in a shaded spot beneath a tree. A flowering potted plant in the aquarium will attract pollinators, but crickets or wild-caught insects should also be provided to ensure the mantis has enough to eat.
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