A Nasty Surprise
This post was originally posted in September 2006. It’s an experience we have never forgotten & still remember quite well, especially Wesley. 🙂
Warning: The following is not for the squeamish!
Its all this books fault. Until a few days ago I thought praying mantises were cute little fellas. I even contemplated holding one which for me is a pretty big thing. Im one of those whose idea of a knight in shining armor is someone who will nab that SCARY bug before it nabs me!
It sounded like a great experience to take some bugs from our yard and learn about them. So, my dear children and me took an old 5 ½ gallon fish tank and placed the metal screen cover (purchased at pet store) on top.
The boys captured one, two, then three mantises – all thin little green things. Cute. Moths and crickets were placed in with them but there was not enough action happening to suit them. So out goes Zachary to find yet another mantis. This time he brings back a BIG brown momma who looked like she might be carrying babies. Not so cute!
Within minutes, Im not kidding about this, within minutes this big brown mantis attacked one of its fellow mantises, killed and started devouring it. Neck first and then eyeballs. It had not even finished the first mantis before it attacked and did the same to a second mantis. Nasty business. In the meantime the 3rd mantis had hopped on the back of the momma. Smart or a death wish? I dont know.
Wesley, who was excited to have the terrarium placed on his desk had to go somewhere else to work on his math. The crunching sounds emanating from the terrarium was much too distracting.
Yesterday, I found the momma and the 3rd mantis draped over a branch – both dead.
Today, I found 20+ teeney, white grub-type worms moving around the terrarium floor. 
What these things are Im not sure, but this is almost more than this faint-hearted, insect fearing mom can take.
Boys, I’m hoping you can get that antelope and come home soon before any more unexpected encounters come my way.
6 Comments
justamom
You are a braver momma than you give yourself credit for!!!
THIS momma would throw the grubbies away and clean the cage out and tell those hunting chillens that their mantis flew the coop and they’ll have to find another!
BLEEEECH!!!!!
Hoping we don’t see you featured on the front page with “Momma Left Home Alone with Mantis Invading Grubs”
LOL!
Just a mom…
Anonymous
Actually that’s why I want them to hurry home – so that THEY can clean out the cage. I don’t want any part of it, if I can help it! 🙂
lindafay
HaHa! My daughters lost their love for them, too, after keep a few as pets. Can you imagine being a bug and meeting one of those monsters? Ours actually had babies. They escaped all over the schoolroom. Looooaaads of them…eeek!
homeschoolhighlites
I don’t like anything creepy crawly but we happen to be studying insects now in our Science curriculum! They can be interesting but also quite revolting at the same time. My boys captured a soldier beetle today to keep while we study insects and its crawling around now in its new glass jar home somewhere in my house! We rarely see mantis’s around here and after reading your post- I’m glad!
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment.
Amy in NY
TeamNewman
I’m glad we didn’t put ours in captivity! That sounds like just about more than I could take! Thanks for the “linkback” to your page. I’m gonna put this Praying Mantis info on the list of “good things to know!” LOL
happycamper
Sorry we did not know one another sooner, I could have warned you that they are cannibals!
Jenn