European Praying Mantis Identification And Care

European Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) Are Common In The United States

I was camping in Big Arm State Park in Polson Montana in August and we had two European praying mantises show up in our tent. They stayed for 5 days and I ended up taking one home to Minnesota to study and photograph.

I ended up naming the mantis “Monty” and she lived until November. I kept Monty in a simple screen enclosure and fed her house flies and moths. I would also lightly mist areas of the cage so the praying mantis had something to drink. I was really hoping she would lay an egg case called an ootheca, but she never did. She was with another mantis so I was hoping they mated.

European Praying Mantis Eating a Moth