Honestly, I'm so glad I found this channel. I'm very squeamish and I hate bugs but the way you present these creatures is so delicate and honest, I love it. Now I'm slowly starting to appreciate the aesthetic of these little guys, even the wasps!
That's the first time I've ever seen someone do that it's even better than hitting subscribe you are directly supporting the person behind the channel pretty cool
Hi Dr. Plants, I love the little mesocosm/vivarium you made for your mantis. Although, I have a few husbandry concerns that you may want to look out for in setups like this for mantises. Primarily, as mostly arboreal animals, mantises have a tendency to require high perches to climb and rest on, and usually dislike having to walk on the floor of their enclosure. They also require somewhere that they can hang upside down so that they can molt properly. In the enclosure you made, the easiest way I can think of to fix this issue would be cutting a large hole in the lid and covering it with mesh so the mantis can climb on it. This mesh lid would also ensure better ventilation in the enclosure, decreasing the risk of a failed molt (depending on the specific needs of your mantis species). The only other major issue I can see with this vivarium moving forward would be the resources available to your isopods. While springtails can survive just about anywhere that is wet and can grow mold, larger isopods generally require extra sources of calcium and organic matter outside of what other vivarium occupants can provide. Periodically adding dead leaves and cuttlebone to your soil could help mitigate this issue. Sorry if this comment comes off as being rude. I just thought sharing some of what I've learned through vivarium keeping might help you out.
This kind of mantis has the nickname “orchid mantis” in my mother tongue ( very accurate imo), I am scared of bugs but still fascinated by their beauty. It’s nice to see people like you appreciate and take care of these weird, wonderful tiny creatures.
hey dude, i just wanna say if you ever made longer videos we would watch them, these are honestly great keep doing your thing and having fun, I fully support this creator :)
This was such a cool video, the species is gorgeous and I love the way you move through your videos, even the sponsored parts (with the timer)-very nice. Thanks for sharing.
I really love all these videos so much! Can't wait for any updates you might have! Feels like being a kid watching the discovery channel again. Makes me want to start some sort of ecosystem for myself someday! Maybe this winter when I have nothing better to do
Wow, I can't believe how gorgeous these creatures are. Where I live, we rarely find just green praying mantid. I love these videos and keep it up. Even though I am scared of bugs I love these!
Mantises are one of my favorite animals, one of my fondest memories is finding one when I was younger and for fun I started hunting prey for it in the garden, sure enough for several days it came back to meet me on the patio table awaiting a meal. But then I never saw them again I was very sad how short lived that friendship was. I love everything about this project, except for how claustrophobicly small it is I hope they get a bigger space and for things to grow out more
Totally cool mantis!!! Will definitely be watching and maybe look into a mantis of my own after a ton of research lol. Love the idea of a little ecosystem in a tank or tea jug. Thanks bud!!!!!!
I tried to make a similar video as this one (with my own spin ofcourse) but can't match the quality of this video, it is insane how good your videos are 😅. Do you have a background in filming / editing / ... ?
Thank you for sharing this very interesting experience. Can you tel us more about the mainteance of the plant : temperature ? lightening ? watering ? ventilation ?
you should make a army of them and put some in your terrarium by the way i love your vids even though i started to watch you couple day ago so keep up the good work!
that's totally cool! I dislike bugs and find them scary irl but watching videos about them and seeing them in movies and games is fine... I do wanna ask however... do mantis have camouflage capabilities? Because that one on the flower looked a lot more like the flower when it was on it... and didn't look exactly like that on your hand
Just be careful with the orchid. They’re very susceptible to mould and fungus and being an epiphyte, do better in extremely well ventilated areas, especially if their roots are buried in soil (wood chips) like yours is (as opposed to mounted on wood). I hope the terrarium and it’s inhabitants are doing well :)
I live in CT and our state insect is the praying mantis. This fall i was super lucky to have one hanging around my marigolds i had planted in my garden at work. It was there for a few days, and i would check it out and photograph it. After a couple days on the same marigolds i noticed it looked different than other mantis' I had seen in the past, so i did some research, and sure enough it was a pregnant female. I was blessed to witness it give birth and lay its egg sack on the marigold bush. Marigolds are a natural pest deterrent, deer and most insects do not like the smell, so i think the mom knew this and thought it would be a safe place for her babies. I have never witnessed a birth in person and i must say, it was one of the most beautiful, fascinating things I've ever seen. She hung upside down from a branch and used 2small mandibles at the end of her abdomen to apply the eggs to the branch. The eggs came out like an expanding foam you would use the insulate. The sack hardens up, and overwinters, from what i understand anyway. The sack in still on the dead marigolds, and im hoping i can record the babies emerge from the eggs this spring. ✌❤
Just found your channel... stoked to see what you do in the future. Can you please leave info in your description though; like species, items used etc?
Actually cool and fascinating! I saved a huge praying mantis the other day that was on a garage door. It was safely rehomed to a big tree. They are interesting 🤔
Never ever say you wasting my time showing me how you build your setup (6:00), I WANT MORE, men I've just discovered what i've been living for... watching your videos !!!! Soo insane
I'm not sure why ur ecosystem vid showed up on my recommend list but I'm SO glad it did! I'd liked & subbed before the vid finished & now I'm binge watching all ur other vids!! Bloody great channel!!! 💕
I absolutely love insects they're so interesting and alien looking! The Mantis is one of my favorites insects, love those isopods I've never seen that particular species ours are usually just Gray. Looking forward to more of your vids.🐛🐝🐜🐞🐌🕷🌱
I've had these in my garden for a couple of years now and they are stunning. They can change color too while they're growing, depending what flower they are on and what they've eaten. Since they proliferated I hardly have any common green mantis' left - now I can see why...
@Cde Elle They don’t like black people so that’s why I asked. And blacks mistreat them. No I don’t own any but I caught a couple last year and fed them!
@WOR 🤣 Like I need your permission... 🤣 Also 50% is not 'mostly' 🙃 and I don't 'own' them, they live in my garden 🌺. They are free to leave anytime they want. Lots of the females actually flew off to lay their eggs already. Do you own a mantis?
When I was in college we found a mantis in our frat house. We named it mantis toboggan and kept it for months in a little terrarium, it would eat anything that moved, really cool to watch it hunt. Once we found a black widow and put it in the tank and the mantis murdered it so fast, it was crazy
I love that they hatch black and fiesty. I had wild mantids in my previous garden. I loved that they were there. The egg caches were laid high up on my house. Hatching brought a myriad of tiny beasts creeping down the walls. So cool.
I've always loved the mantis, I used to look for them on the sides of the apartment buildings when I was a kid. I'd catch one and just let it crawl on me then I'd let it go back where I found it. Yours are beautiful, and you're channel is awesome
I felt horrible one day at work when I opened a door on a mantis that was hanging out outside. Tried my best to make it easier and put them back over to some grass. Mine was just standard green, yours however look awesome!
OMG!!!!! THIS IS SO AMAZING!!!. I'm at a loss for words . The dancing is the coolest .... Your tanks and ecosystems are next level bad ass. 🔥🔥🔥🪰🪰🪰🪴💐🦀🦀🦀
I absolutly love praying mantis. One of my favorite insects, and sometimes I menage to find them, you just gave me an idea and know how to make my own terarium with one, great, thx!
Awesome! Nice balance between technical’s and nice explanation for laymen. Really enjoyed the gorgeous photography and enjoyed learning. Best of luck with your projects.
The flower that you drew when you learned how to draw with watercolor that was pretty impressive looks really pretty so did the pre-mantis look kind of just like the flower the colors were all the same and I liked how they were there colors were really identical
I had a praying mantis move into my living room about a month ago. I fed him every day or two but I didn't want to put him in a container. He seemed quite content on my curtains. After a while, he started getting defensive towards the crickets and wouldn't take food from me anymore. I decided for his own good that I should evict him since there aren't many natural food sources in my living room's ecosystem. Do you have a link or recommendation on how/where to source these rare insects? A reputable company you prefer?
I live in Virginia, two summers ago I had a wild, native mantis make it's home in a potted lantana on my side porch. We named her Waldo and got to see pretty much every stage of her life cycle. We saw her molt, hunt and eat, release pheromones, mate several times, and lay her egg sac. Watching Waldo everyday that summer was one of the best natural experiences I've had. Thank you for putting in the effort and doing stuff like this so others can experience it, cuz it's really really cool!
Hey, Dr. Plants! Would it be possible to keep an ecosystem similar to this at home? I probably wouldn’t make it so complex, but do you have any tips on where to buy the essentials and what to keep that aren’t too expensive or hard to keep?
When you breed them, are you going to let nature take its course or take measures to keep the males alive? Not being overly sentimental or judgmental - genuinely curious.
I love your videos bro keep it up. I've never had a terrarium but I have had many pets like parrot dogs chickens my favorite one so far has been a chameleon but I really been thinking about doing a terrarium by watching your videos
The Praying Mantis is both my wife's and mine Absolute FAVORITE insect. They are also human friendly and affectionate. I met a Mantis one day and spent an HOUR playing and enjoying each other's company. He'd run up one arm, across my neck and down the other arm. He'd then stand there, look at me, twist his head then run back up my arm back over to the other one a few times ! I truly felt a love and acceptance from it, then put it back on a tree. Good Bye my friend ! 😄
@Dawn Johnson I absolutely believe it thanked you - It's been my personal experience of a mutual acceptance and interest. The Japanese also Revere the mantis as a spiritual entity. I personally Love the mantis and would never cage one for myself. Meeting and greeting in the world is pretty special !
I saved a mantis from being squished and I swear it thanked me. The orchid mantis i think is the most beautiful of all of them. They have limbs that mimic flower pedals.. how amazing
I wish the best to you Dr.plants, this content gives me hope for an insight to the little critters. When I was in like second grade I only knew about the ants walking on sidewalks. Keep up the amazing work😎😎
As a former tarantula owner, (Antilles Pinktoe) words can't express how much your heart sank when you thought your baby was dead, then how much is rose when you realized that it had molted!!!!!!
