Found this stowaway.

Weather has been getting colder here in MN so we've been dragging the potted plants that we've had outside back inside again lately. This morning I found this stow away in my window.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps1a764c66.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps05bbde5f.jpg

I just thought it was kind of neat. Don't really know what do do with her now though, it's really starting to get cold outside and I don't know how long she'll survive if I put her out.

I also found a mantis egg case if a pot of Cilantro that we brought in. I really don't want hatchling preying mantis's running around my house this winter, but it would be cool if I could save it until next spring and put it outside. I've snipped it off the plant and put it in a tupperware container in the fridge, will it keep there? and if so for how long?

wow, that's nuts that you found that in MN of course I have no idea what to do with one but they are sure cool, I think some people have kept them as pets maybe there's a care sheet somewhere online. it would not normally be this far north since they typically live in warmer areas (You could probably find some in the S. US) my guess is someone had it as a pet and it escaped this summer and he was lucky enough to find his way into your house.

Maybe just stick the case in a critter keeper and put it in a room that stays warmer? Interesting finds!


Sent from my cool hide

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Originally Posted by aaront126

wow, that's nuts that you found that in MN of course I have no idea what to do with one but they are sure cool, I think some people have kept them as pets maybe there's a care sheet somewhere online. it would not normally be this far north since they typically live in warmer areas (You could probably find some in the S. US) my guess is someone had it as a pet and it escaped this summer and he was lucky enough to find his way into your house.

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Oh no. I know they're from egg cases I bought earlier last spring from amazon.com, I had plans to see if I could raise them up to adult size as captives. That didn't work out so well, but when the egg cases hatched there were so many of them that I put most of them outside and spread around in our various gardens where my wife wanted them for pest control. We've been seeing them around here and there all year. My wife particularly gets a kick out of seeing them and every time she came across one in her gardens she'd take a picture of it and send it to me. I was just surprised to see one inside on my window sill and was especially surprised to find an egg case.

The ootheca will keep just fine in the fridge over the winter or until you decide to hatch them.
Chinese mantis are fun to keep. They have a short lifespan of 1 year so you really have to breed them in order to enjoy them long term.
You can keep the adult in pretty much anything, a tub, tank or screen cage. Just make sure it had stuff to climb on. They are super fun to watch and to feed. Their heads turn and look at you and it cracks me up every time. Feed it crickets or roaches. He will probably last through the winter as a pet and then perish in the spring.

When it comes time to hatch the ootheca make sure you have a ton of pinhead crickets or a ton of fruit flies handy. Hundreds of babies come out of one ootheca and those babies eat a lot. Mostly they will start to cannibalize each other so you can separate some to ensure their survival.
That is if your wanting to keep some yourself and not throw them all in your garden. :)

You must have a wonderful garden for you to have found this guy still alive. I'm only one state over and it gets in the low 30s here already, not seeing many bugs out and about anymore.
Fun find! good luck!

Oh so cool! I love praying mantises!