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Butterfly Garden

Praying Mantis and Butterflies

13 years ago

Recently I have seen a couple of healthy sized Praying Mantis in my butterfly garden. I was very happy to see them hoping they would take care of something that is eating on the plants(nasty earwigs). Imagine my HORROR when I saw one devouring a silver spotted skipper in broad daylight! I had no idea they would go after a butterfly! Don't they know that butterflies are the good guys? I guess the circle of life is alive and well in my garden.

Sad in Maryland.

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Comments (5)

tdogmom
13 years ago
Yep, sad, but true!

The thing about the mantids, though, is that they don't 'travel' much. Mantids are sort of like the neighborhood watch of a garden; they have a 'beat' so to speak, and will patrol their particular area. Give them a certain spot and they will keep that area spit-spot!

What I do with the ones in my garden is keep them in the Rose garden and NOT in the butterfly garden! This way, they can eat ALL of the bugs found within the Rose garden (since my butterflies rarely hang out in the Roses) and thus, EVERYONE (including moi) is happy! ;)
annainok
13 years ago
Personally, I love mantids. I used to keep Stagmomantis carolina when I was a kid, building elaborate habitats and keeping them supplied with all manner of insects. My children have been taught to have the utmost respect for mantids, and have rescued more than one from a careless friend.

Mantids will eat all manner of insects, and larger species (in more tropical climes) will grab an unwary hummingbird here or there, along with frogs, lizards, and the occasional small rodent. They are not discriminatory and will eat beneficials as well as pests, consuming eggs, larvae, and adults. I could see where a few of them in a small butterfly garden might wreak a bit of havoc, and I'd be inclined to relocate them.

Anna Bennett
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You can believe me when I say it. When the mantis sets up sentry duty on my Echinaceae, it's after nothing but butterflies and bees. I saw one the other day on some of my blooming Autumn Joy sedum. Guess which plant is literally swarming with all kinds of pollinating insects at this time of year? In my gardens, with so few pests, the praying mantis doesn't have much to do other than make me irritated. I've released them into the garage upon occasion, where black widows have made themselves at home. I'm not sure who would win that battle, but I'd be rooting for the mantis! mandi, the egg case of the praying mantis is designed to withstand winter weather of all kinds. However, I don't think you want it on the inside of your screen door! I've never tried to move an egg case and they seem to be fairly securely attached whenever I find them. What's the situation with yours? Does it appear to be loose or tightly glued down? If not, you should be able to gingerly move it to an outdoor location where it might have some protection. Use a dap of super glue to secure it in place.
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Thanks for the information Leafhead. Great amount of damage and no natural enemies is not a good picture. I looked up what their damage looks like and that's exactly how the leaves on my roses can look mid summer. I check the rose and night blooming jasmine leaves and I can never find anything. My Rose of Sharon bush is next to the roses and has stayed okay. Leafhead, have you ever tried or had any luck with diatomacious (sp?) earth? I tried it on ants and it didn't phase them. I threw it all over the navel orange tree, and I think it did slow the problems down. It might be worth trying. So unfortunate that world commerce has spread so many foreign invading species around the globe, harming natural habitats, our agriculture and gardening! My milkweed leaves have several different insects right now I think partly because there is not much other tender new plant growth around this time of year. I pushed my MW growth by cutting it back and fertilizing heavily-just to guarantee a food supply for all the late eggs being deposited-a serious problem-hard to pretend they aren't out there (for me). The second instars are TOO cute! Am still finding a few eggs and first and second instars daily! (help) I'm worried about running out of MW for the 30 Monarch larvae in the house. Without the black mildew (or mold?) and insects on the MW it wouldn't have been a problem. Next year I'll grow potted milkweed in the house for back-up. Then no worries about bugs, mold, cold temps at night, OE, etc. I'm thinking about covering the plants at night--I see the cold night-time temps are beginning to slow new growth. Had I never let that "weed" go into seed a few years back ...... :)
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As shocking and sad that a mantis can actually catch a hummer (which amazed me), I expect it is an EXTRAORDINARILY rare event. In my 25 years of organic gardening (encouraging mantises among other beneficial insects), I have never seen a mantis with anything larger than a grasshopper or moth. And in untold numbers of weeding events, I have never found a hummingbird carcass on the ground among the flowers. Mantids aren't perfectly beneficial; they will catch a few "good" insects, too. But they shouldn't be considered any real threat to hummers either. Heck, I kept one as a "pet" for a couple of months once (put it on a thread leash and fed it moths). They are relatively safe to handle. You can just grab them gently from behind (like pinching a pencil in the middle) and they can't reach you. Or just put a long stick in front of them and they will generally get on it (they are afraid of you). Or push them into a slippery bowl and dump them on any plant away from the hummer feeders; they do not usually travel far. I'm a hummer-lover, but I am also mantis-friendly...
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If you raise them in a terrarium, you need individually housing. If held in a common space, they will eat each other until only one fat one remains. (They're cannibals.) If you want to rear them outdoors, ask the vendor if they will survive in your region. They are predators, but are non-selective. In other words, they are likely to eat whatever walks by. So, not very effective as far as pest management goes.
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MissSherry
13 years ago
They like to lie in wait on nectar plants in my garden, so, whenever I find them, I move them to the woods. I saved a cloudless sulphur from the grasp of a mantid once, and I've been moving them since then.
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sweet_melissa
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all of the great information and advice! When I see them again, I will relocate them.

Melissa
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
I don't like to see them in my gardens, either! I've seen them grab far too many beneficials, including bees.

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