Home Depot Praying Mantis

[Tahuyaman]

I've been frequenting Home Depot and Lowe's a lot lately. I've seen boxes of praying mantis larva at the check-out in the garden center. Has anyone purchased and of these larva? Is there more than one in the box? Do they actually survive and develop?

Last year a local nursery was selling lady bugs in the early spring. That nursery is closed now. I'm not sure why, because most others are up and running.

[nathanbforrest45]

I made the mistake of bringing a Preying Mantis egg sac (its not a single larva) into my home years ago. A week or so later I came home from work with thousands of half inch long mantises in my house, on my curtains, in my fish tanks (the fish were beside themselves with their good fortune.) I scooped up as many as I could and put them in my garden. The next day they were all gone! Don't know if they moved to other gardens or if, like the tropical fish, the birds got them all (hell they were even attacking each other!)

[Lummy]

Are they expensive?

I have a way-too-large tub of "Tanglefoot" flypaper glue. I spread a thin coat of it along the edge of my kitchen window and catch a surprising number of tiny flies and bugs, especially for this early in the season. Good stuff, but I have enough to last about 10 lifetimes because it doesn't take much, at least the way I use it.

[Lummy]

I made the mistake of bringing a Preying Mantis egg sac (its not a single larva) into my home years ago. A week or so later I came home from work with thousands of half inch long mantises in my house, on my curtains, in my fish tanks (the fish were beside themselves with their good fortune.) I scooped up as many as I could and put them in my garden. The next day they were all gone! Don't know if they moved to other gardens or if, like the tropical fish, the birds got them all (hell they were even attacking each other!)

LOL. Now that is hilarious.

[Collateral Damage]

Praying Mantis are excellent beneficial insects for the garden. I'm still snickering @nathanbforest45

They are excellent bug control, especially or organic gardeners.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/beneficial/attract-praying-mantis.htm

[BenjaminO]

I found this...interesting site...
http://www.prayingmantisshop.com/

[Common]

When I was a kid they used to drop adult praying mantis from airplanes...YES airplanes and they survived the fall...when they made a drop they were EVERYWHERE and an hour or two later, they were gone.

BTW this was not rural this was in the city

[texan]

The Praying Mantis

[BenjaminO]

When I was a kid they used to drop adult praying mantis from airplanes...YES airplanes and they survived the fall...when they made a drop they were EVERYWHERE and an hour or two later, they were gone.

BTW this was not rural this was in the city

I've never heard of anything like that before.
May I ask what city you lived in?
Has anyone ever explained why they did that?
My first 10 years were on a farm and we saw them all the time.

[BenjaminO]

The Praying Mantis

Okay, I'm not a basketball guru.
Who is that?
Is that his nickname?