"Praying" Mantis in my Garden - Ask Extension
I noticed a "Praying" Mantis in my garden today. Hopefully I can include a photo. (though is a kind of Where's Waldo exercise). I read an OSU pdf on...
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"Praying" Mantis in my Garden #716651
Asked August 23, 2020, 2:04 PM EDT
I noticed a "Praying" Mantis in my garden today. Hopefully I can include a photo. (though is a kind of Where's Waldo exercise). I read an OSU pdf on Praying Mantis from 2007 by J.M. Loomis and H.Sone which talks about how beneficial they are and how to raise them or buy them. Kinda scares me because I also read that they are indiscriminant in what they catch. I purposefully planted lavender, germander etc to bring bees and other pollinators to the garden and yet, here it is, sitting proud on a cedar bush in the line of all the flyovers of many types of pollinators. I love diversity but, I don't want to encourage this species if it's invasive. Should I capture it?
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
It's probably a European mantis which is non-native but is widely established in the U.S. It is an indiscriminate meat-eater that will eat beneficial insects as well as "bad" insects. However, according to Gail Langelotto (OSU Professor of Horticulture), they eat each other so much (especially as juveniles) that they deplete their own population to the point where they're not likely to have any meaningful negative impact on pollinator populations. So, the recommendation is that you should just leave the praying mantis alone.
