Praying mantises are insects in the order Mantodea, somewhat related to cockroaches and the like. All of the members of this order are carnivorous...they hunt. Perhaps a more accurate name would be "preying" mantis.
Because of their predaceous ways, mantids are thought of as beneficial insects around the garden. They help keep pests away from flowers, vegetables, and the like. Many people find live mantids or the egg cases (see the picture below), and would like to know how they can keep these insects alive as pets or to be released in their gardens.
(Mantis
Egg Case)
Mantids will catch and eat pretty much anything they can get their "hands" on (more accurately "raptorial prothoracic legs"). Therefore they will need to be fed live insect prey of an appropriate size. Newly hatched mantids are small little critters, and so fruit flies make a tasty snack (although unfortunately they also seem to like the taste of their siblings as well - cannibalism is not uncommon). As the mantis grows, you can feed it progressively larger prey...house flies, crickets, and the like.
You'll want to keep your mantises in a warm, dry environment...although I little water never hurts anything. An old aquarium is perfect. Give them some foliage, stems, etc. to crawl around on, and with some luck and the right food, you may keep them around until spring. Be warned, if you capture a mature mantis late in the summer or fall, there is an excellent chance they are near the end of their normal lifespan. Don't be disappointed if they don't last long in captivity. One other thing. Mantids are notorious for one story...that females bite the heads off of males after mating, and then eat the male. While this probably does happen on a rare basis in the wild, this observation most likely was the result of matings occuring in captivity, where the male had no chance to escape the female. So chalk this one up as largely "insect urban legend," although technically it CAN happen rarely. Good luck!
- Text courtesy of Dr. David Schulz, University of Illinois
For further information, check out these web sites:
http://www.ex.ac.uk/bugclub/mantids.html
I Found a Praying Mantis/Mantis Egg Sac. How can I keep them alive?