Praying Mantis - Ask Extension
I’m writing a children’s book about a little girl who likes to protect insects and animals. My own experience with a particularly large and beauti...
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Praying Mantis #809741
Asked September 06, 2022, 5:31 PM EDT
I’m writing a children’s book about a little girl who likes to protect insects and animals. My own experience with a particularly large and beautiful Praying Mantis was to capture it and take it safely to a wooded area far from this location I found him,
I am trying to think of a way it would be safe for a child of about 8 to do that. I’m thinking perhaps she could lure him onto a stick and into her lunchbox, and then take that to a safe wooded area to release him. Any suggestions are appreciated, As well as whether you think it’s safe or appropriate for a child to even attempt to handle a Praying Mantis.
As an adult, I saw a huge praying mantis on the sidewalk by a busy YMCA, with roads all around, so I covered him with my light jacket and carefully scooped him up and put him into a large cooler, and took him to the woods and released him — and let him climb up my arm. I love praying mantises which are prevalent around my home in Annapolis certain times of the year, I would really like to include them somehow in the book. Perhaps she should only look at him!
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
We have several species of mantids in Maryland, though alas only one is native; the rest are of European or Asian origin. They are very well-adapted to thriving in urban/suburban conditions (in fact they are less commonly found in woodlands, though maybe we just notice them less there) so probably don't need relocating if found. Adult mantids are also capable of flying and can move about on their own to find mates and food.
Handling mantids is usually low-risk, though they can pinch with their spiny front legs (forelegs) if triggered into defending themselves or somehow think they have caught prey. Usually, though, they just sit still and groom a leg or foot, an antenna, or their face (somewhat like a cat licking its paw and then wiping its face), or they just wander around actively or try to jump away when held. It is possible they could bite while pinching a finger, but this is rare and probably not going to cause much damage beyond a tiny wound. They would be most likely to try biting and pinching if caught in such a way that holds their thorax (the stalklike body segment between their head and abdomen, which looks like an easy spot to pluck them up). Letting them walk onto you by themselves is typically a non-issue.
We suppose the safest suggestion for any child wanting to handle an unfamiliar creature is to (a) avoid handling it in the first place, both for the creature's safety (falls, or exposure to skin oils in the case of amphibians, etc.) and the child's (bites, stings, itchy hairs, etc.), or to (b) move it with a natural object like a branch or leaf for much the same reasons. Your character could just pick up the mantis on a stick and observe it from there, notice how it keeps its body clean by "licking" (more or less) off debris, and then place it back where they found it in case the mantis had found a good food source, place to find a mate or lay eggs, shelter or camouflage from predators, or what-have-you.
Miri
Handling mantids is usually low-risk, though they can pinch with their spiny front legs (forelegs) if triggered into defending themselves or somehow think they have caught prey. Usually, though, they just sit still and groom a leg or foot, an antenna, or their face (somewhat like a cat licking its paw and then wiping its face), or they just wander around actively or try to jump away when held. It is possible they could bite while pinching a finger, but this is rare and probably not going to cause much damage beyond a tiny wound. They would be most likely to try biting and pinching if caught in such a way that holds their thorax (the stalklike body segment between their head and abdomen, which looks like an easy spot to pluck them up). Letting them walk onto you by themselves is typically a non-issue.
We suppose the safest suggestion for any child wanting to handle an unfamiliar creature is to (a) avoid handling it in the first place, both for the creature's safety (falls, or exposure to skin oils in the case of amphibians, etc.) and the child's (bites, stings, itchy hairs, etc.), or to (b) move it with a natural object like a branch or leaf for much the same reasons. Your character could just pick up the mantis on a stick and observe it from there, notice how it keeps its body clean by "licking" (more or less) off debris, and then place it back where they found it in case the mantis had found a good food source, place to find a mate or lay eggs, shelter or camouflage from predators, or what-have-you.
Miri
