Praying Mantis for Orchids Outside in Summer?

[Optimist]

I love mantis'. I would think that perhaps 98% of the newborn babies would end up as bird food, with a very small number living to adulthood to mate. I believe this is why insects, fish and other animals have hundreds of babies. The infant mortality is huge. So, in effect, a person does not really need to worry about whether a large population of mantis' will have enough food lifelong in their landscapes. I suppose if you had a greenhouse, you might get better survival rate.

And of course, in order to raise the survival rate yourself, you would need to stop using insecticides of all kinds around your plants.

Darwin should have called "survival of the fittest" survival of the luckiest.

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by DeaC

Hummingbirds are also on their menu if the opportunity presents itself. Happy and safe holiday all.

Praying mantises eat hummingbirds?????!!!!!

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer370

Praying mantises eat hummingbirds?????!!!!!

FYI: Can Praying Mantises Eat Hummingbirds? | Popular Science.

[Chris17]

Praying mantises, especially juveniles, have no qualms about eating each other if there is no other prey around and will do so until there are only a couple left from each egg-case.

[berthabloom]

I recently read that 90% of the ladybugs sold online and in retail stores are harvested from the wild. I would venture to say this is probably also true for mantis as well. At a minimum, I would inquire with the supplier before purchasing. If you do purchase don't expect to see a whole herd of mantid's in your yard. They are voracious predators and the insect population in a single yard will not support more than a couple of adult mantids. They will leave you for greener, more insect-filled pastures.

[Jenna09]

@berthabloom

I will definitely check into that, I never thought of that tbh.

I just recently moved to 30 acres so I expect they will mostly all just drift off or become prey, but if I can find some captive produced eggs I think I will give it a go.

Thanks again everyone!
Jenna

[Paul]

Ladybugs as well as mantids will never remain in high population concentrations in an area.
As has been mentioned, it would take an incredibly high number of prey to keep them fed. In the case of mantids, there is the additional danger of being preyed upon by their own kind .... anything that can be seized in their arms is a possible food item -- and that can mean things up to the size of the mantid itself. As a result, predatory insects like mantids and ladybugs will try to disperse as far as they can. Doing so reduces predation of their own kind and makes it less likely for them to deplete a food source.