Observing the Praying Mantis Life Cycle with Your Children
One of the best ways to learn about nature is to observe it with your own eyes. We had the opportunity to learn about the praying mantis life cycle with a praying mantis egg case. I want to give you some ideas so you can teach your children how to observe the praying mantis and other creatures.
Discovering and Observing the Praying Mantis
My girls love observing little creatures. One day my daughter found what she thought was a butterfly cocoon in a tree in our backyard. She got her dad to bring it in. It looked like some kind of cocoon to me too, but I didn’t know from what.
We kept it in our terrarium to see what would happen. After a week or two, one day when I looked at it I saw the container was filled with a whole bunch of baby praying mantises! The hatching egg case had a bunch of strings hanging down from it.
We had so much fun observing and playing with them before letting them go. It was neat to see them since I had never really paid attention to the different stages of mantis development before.
Praying Mantis Life Cycle
The mantis life cycle stages are egg, nymph, and adult.
Eggs
An adult female praying mantis will lay eggs at some point and cover them with a soft egg case that is called an ootheca. This image shows what ours looked like, but some also look like a bunch of foam.
The protective sac structure quickly becomes a hardened egg case. Usually it takes 3-10 weeks, depending on the weather, until the egg case hatches. Each tiny nymph comes down out of the egg mass to the floor.
Nymph Stage
Juvenile mantids are called nymphs. Praying mantises change a bit as they grow and molt (change their “skin” or exoskeleton) 5-10 times before getting to the adult stage. They start as small wingless nymphs and become quite a bit larger after several molts.
Adults
Once a praying mantis has reached adulthood, some species grow wings. They mate at some point (and sometimes the female mantises end up eating the male!) and then soon after, they die. The life cycle of a praying mantis starts over again with their young.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Praying Mantis
Here in Costa Rica where we live, some people are scared of the praying mantis. One of the Spanish names for it is “the devil’s mule.” That name sounds scary, but praying mantes are really not scary at all.
Sometimes praying mantes might bite if they get scared or hurt, but usually, they are friendly creatures. I do not like to grab the big ones because they look a bit scary and scratchy, but the little ones are fun.
No, praying mantes are not dangerous. They do not have venom. While they might bite, it wouldn’t really hurt very long. They look scary with their large, compound eyes, but they are usually friendly.
Praying mantes eat flies, spiders, and other small insects. Some have also been known to eat small nesting birds, tree frogs, small snakes, and other creatures. When young, their first meal would be something small like fruit flies.
Most live 6-12 months, but not longer. It depends on their climate.
Praying mantises are the farmer’s friends. You want to try to have a bunch in your garden as they will clean up harmful insects for you.
Study the Praying Mantis With Your Children
If you have praying mantises in your area, try to observe them with your children. My girls sometimes find one and study it. You may be able to see it quickly catch its prey with its little hands and eat it.
Maybe you can also find a detailed egg case to watch the nymphs hatch and grow. Just carefully bring it in and store it, misting it occasionally a tiny bit.
Their triangular-shaped heads that turn all around, and their large eyes staring at you can be a bit intimidating! But in the end, they are so much fun to watch.
You can buy praying mantis egg cases when they are in season on Amazon. Find the link here on my shop page.) Insect Lore and Josh’s Frogs also have a bunch of neat, educational praying mantis or other insect and exotic pet supplies.
Use Other Resources
Praying mantises are very interesting creatures, so even if you can’t learn about them in real life, you may want to use these resources.
- Books (on my shop page)
- Mantis Life Cycle Figures (also on my resources page)
Observing Other Creatures
There are many different kinds of little creatures and creations to observe. We love to watch caterpillars becoming butterflies or play with the spinybacked orb weaver spider. My children have several kinds of bugs, worms, and spiders that we know are safe, so they often catch them and come show them to me.
There is this one friendly, harmless little bug that my girls love to play with. My two-year-old has been caught collecting them and stuffing her dress pocket with them! When your children observe little creatures up close, it teaches them a lot of science naturally.
My girls also love finding tiny mushrooms and bringing them to me. They check on their little garden each day to see what they can find to be new. When we find any sort of eggs (except bird eggs of course) or cocoons we bring them in to observe the process, and then we carefully let them go once they hatch. One time the girls found ladybugs changing from nymphs to ladybugs, and we watched the ladybugs “hatch.” It is all so fun!
If you want to learn more about teaching science to your young children, check out my tips and favorite curriculum.
Recently we had some lizard eggs that my husband found when digging a hole for a post. After several weeks, the day I was planning to pitch the eggs because they no longer worked, the lizards crawled out. It was so neat that the girls got to watch the last one appear.
There is such a wonderful, fascinating world of little creatures around us if we take the time to observe them and learn from them. The Bible also teaches us to observe insects:
Proverbs 6:6-8
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
Save it for later!
Shop for Praying Mantises
You can find information for terrariums, egg cases, figurines, and books about praying mantises on my shop page. You can also find butterfly and ladybug kit information there if you prefer them over praying mantises!
Insect Lore also has a lot of resources that you can check out to learn about praying mantises.
Josh’s Frogs is another good resource for getting praying mantises or other creatures as pets.
What creatures are you going to observe with your children?
What an interesting idea! My son loves bugs of many kinds. I didnt know you could buy egg cases. Thats awesome!
Yes. You just have to make sure they are in season.
I would be so scared but my little one would love it 😅
Sometimes we have to put aside our fears for our little ones!
This is so neat! My 8 year old loves learning about bugs and animals, so I’ll have to share this with her.
I am sure you will enjoy it!