Things You'll Need:
- Critter Keeper cage
- Ootheca (egg sack)
- Twigs
- Small spray bottle of water
- Aphids or other small live insects for food
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Step 1
Put a Praying Mantis egg case, or ootheca, into a Critter Keeper cage which has a very fine-mesh screen. Your ootheca should hatch in early to mid June. An ootheca will usually produce between 30 and 300 young Mantid. Your newly-hatched Mantids will be a very light color and not easy to see.
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Step 2
Cut two or three small twigs that are approximately 1 inch shorter than the height of your habitat. Leaving a few leaves on the twigs is O.K. Place the twigs into the cage so that your tiny Mantises can climb them.
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Step 3
Drop an aphid-covered leaf or rose bud into your Critter Keeper, as young Mantid are extremely hungry. Small flies, caterpillars and other soft-bodied insects can and will be consumed. Water is not necessary, although a light misting from a spray bottle every couple of days is an excellent idea.
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Step 4
Thin your Mantis population. As your tiny Mantises grow they will shed their skins and become a darker color. At this point they will begin to eat each other. Choose the healthiest specimen to keep and release the others into the wild--or buy additional Critter Keeper cages in which to raise additional Mantid, one per cage.
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Step 5
Feeding your Mantis can be a full-time job due to the Mantis' almost insatiable appetite. Add live insects to your Mantis' cage on a daily or every-other-day basis. You may wish to catch crickets, grasshoppers, flies and other soft-bodied insects yourself to feed to your Mantis, or you may wish to purchase live crickets or other soft-bodied insects from your local pet shop.
