European Praying Mantis

TARGET PESTS: Crickets, Grasshoppers, Moths, Locust, Caterpillars, Flies, Cockroaches and other pests.

RELEASE RATE:

QUANTITY	TREATS APPROXIMATELY
2 Eggs	3,000 sq. ft.

 

Description:
Mantises are territorial stalkers of insects. They will spend days waiting and tracking it’s prey. The praying mantis moves it’s head to keep it’s prey in sight. It’s head stimulates special receptors that send out nerve impulses that instantly adjust the distance and angle of the mantis’ quick strike. It delivers a bite to the neck, killing the insect and then savors the meal. Each egg case will hatch out 50-200 mantises. When hatching: the young crawl from between tiny flaps in the egg case and hang from silken threads about 2 inches below the case. After drying out, the young will disperse. This happens within an hour or two and it is very difficult to know if hatching has occurred unless the elusive, yet well-camouflaged, young are found. Hatching can take up to 6 weeks, depending on when the females laid the egg.

Release Rates:
1 egg case per 1,500 sq. ft.

Strategic Considerations:
Pesticides and even wetting agents and spreader-stickers may adversely affect mantis’s survival. Broad spectrum and systemic insecticides are toxic to praying mantises.