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"possibly the most terrifying animal in the world" *Mantis proceeds to flail arms trying to get off its back on the table*

This channel is slowly turning into “Clint’s Exotic Animals”

"Possibly the most terrifying-" Mantis jumps off stick and can't get back up like an idiot

As someone who accidentally brought an praying mantis egg sack into my house on a thing of wood. I can confirm when they hatch they are small enough to stand on your fingernails and are little tiny versions of adults. They are very friendly and very cat like

I always say praying mantis are the cats of insect world. They appear very inquisitive and playful. I love the way they turn their heads and clean themselves. I play with them whenever I get a chance.

"What would possibly...." *bonk* "...be the scariest predator..." *_arms flailing_* "...if we were smaller." "ₕₐₗₚ"

I am a simple man. I see praying mantis, I like.

Clint: Is the praying mantis the best pet insect for you? Me: I dunno. Tell me more. Clint: When they come out of the ootheca.... they're already little horror shows. Me: *SOLD!!!*

This is going to sound fake, but I swear it's true: I once had a praying mantis that..well, he (I think it was a he), wasn't my pet, but almost like a room-mate. We found him in my bedroom, and we pulled out a little enclosure we had for a previous insect, got some water in there, and just never put a lid on it. And he made himself at home, and stayed with us for a little over a week, always crawling on us and coming to see us in between hunting the bugs that found their way in. One day, while he was crawling on me, I noticed he had gotten a spider web caught in his mandibles, and he actually held perfectly still, watching me as I pulled it out of his mouth. (Carefully as all hell, as you can imagine.) He finally decided he wanted out (By raising his arms when I held him near the window), so I brought him back out, let him find his way to a tree, and went on my way. I abject *refuse* anyone saying insects can't tell humans apart. Edit: Fun fact, those claws STILL hurt if you're a human. I made the *brilliant* idea to poke his claw, and while it didn't draw blood, it did leave a mark.

Worked at a Mobil gas station when I was in high school. One of the mechanics found a Mantis on the bumper of a car, and placed it inside on top of the cigarette rack. There it stayed all summer. You could hear the crunching when it captured and ate a fly, etc.

"Approaching a female is a very dangerous game" Yet another common ground for both the human, and the mantis.

The orchid mantis is easily one of the most beautiful species in the animal kingdom.

Love this. Had a female ghost mantis I had a great bond with, raised her from L2. I was absolutely shocked and mesmerized every single day how much intelligence and character there was in that little beast. I could take her out of her enclosure and she'd jump/fly back and forth between my hands. She used to sit and chill on the back of my hand and look at my laptop screen as I worked. Had her for 15 months, was absolutely heart-broken when I came home and found out she had passed during the day. Have a male orchid mantis now, totally different personality. He likes to "hunt" me, but as soon as I even open the enclosure he jumps away because he's the worst scaredy cat. Got him as an adult so I wonder if that's why there's less of a bond. He's absolutely beautiful though. I'd love to get a idolomantis diabolica next. Thank you for the great video, Clint, I'd love to see more people fall in love with these amazing creatures.

I had a really cool interaction with a praying mantis a while back. I found him in the back of a delivery truck and it was obviously super hungry as he immediately death gripped my finger when I tried to pick it up to move him elsewhere. He immediately started gnawing on my skin and carving up little chunks to eat from my finger as I moved him to a bush and i could feel him tugging and cutting up the outer layer of my finger. It was really cool watching his mandibles go to work on it so close, but I had to stop him chewing any deeper before he got into an area that actually had nerves. He was seriously strong for an insect and I had a difficult time prying him off my finger without hurting him as he really wanted to hold on and eat more of my finger, but eventually I managed to release him onto a bush. He left a little shiny spot on my finger from all the skin he carved off, so he definitely would have chewed my finger to the bone if I had let him. They're awesome little critters that are amazing to watch.

Another handling tip: They like crawling in an upwards direction rather than down. So when on you, they will try to climb to the highest point. They therefore will try to climb to your head. They will also sometimes try to jump on your face/head if within range. Also, only the males can actually fly. The wings on the female are too short, extending only about halfway down their abdomen, whereas male's wings are the length of their abdomen.

"I'm here with what would be, if we were smaller..." [mantis jumps onto table, flailing around] "possibly the most terrifying animal in the world."

Those mouthparts are so messed up. Insects are metal

From what i read in the past, a female mantis is actually a lot less likely to attempt to eat the male after mating if they are in a good territory with plenty of land and food/water. Females are more likely to eat the male to give their offspring a better chance of finding their own territory, water and food if they are in less favorable conditions :)

I love mantises. They've always been one of my favorites. Did you know that a lot of them like watching cartoons? The bright colors with lots of contrast combined with motion just really gets their attention.

I've loved praying mantises ever since I was a kid. My mom found an egg case in her garden and we put it in a special bug case, kind of like a jar with a fine metal mesh all around. After a few days, the egg case hatched into dozens, if not hundreds of tiny mantises and we let them all loose in her garden. It's one of my fondest childhood memories and one of the reasons that I still love mantises to this day. I also, much more recently, found a massive female on the side of the road just outside of my driveway. I took the time to gently corral her over into the bushes so she wouldn't get run over, and I managed to get a number of good pictures of her. You're right in saying that they're alien. But they're truly beautiful aliens.

In my garden a praying mantis was eating a little lizard D:

I caught I 3rd instar carolina mantis in my last year of university, man what a great pet she was! I had her for 9 months and while I was sad to see her go, I had the privilege of releasing her progeny into the same park I caught her in. Thats right, I mated her with a male I caught, and the story of the mating is wild! I introduced the male to the enclosure thinking I was gonna have me some baby mantids in a couple months, but as soon as the female spotted the male, she instantly grabbed him and started eating him. You see, in my rush to get me some baby mantids, I threw the male in as soon as I caught him, which I caught on my balcony 5 minutes before, not realizing that I hadn't fed my female for a couple days. Needless to say, the male was eviscerated, cut in half actually. Grasped in on of the female's limbs was his head, thorax, and two front limbs, in the other was his abdomen and 4 walking limbs. She began to eat his thorax first, and I thought for sure the mating was over, silly me not feeding her beforehand, so I went to bed. In the morning I checked the enclosure and surprise surprise, the males abdomen and 4 limbs was actually mating with the female! 8 hours after the fact if you can believe that! I knew males had a separate brain in the abdomen to allow them to continue mating in the event of being consumed DURING copulation, but I had no idea that a headless, eyeless, antennaeless abdomen could find its was to a female! Unreal, these creatures really are aliens man. She laid 3 ootheca and they hatched smack dab in the middle of finals week, I had plans to care for some but I was so busy that I just decided to release them. By now they've probably already produced a couple more generations of mantids in that park, I still miss mine sometimes.

I once had a praying mantis land on the windshield of my car.... it actually hung on and stayed with me for the entire 20-30 minute drive! It flew off right after I got to my destination. I almost felt like it was watching over me somehow. I know, it's silly lol. But mantises are just amazing! There's a reason there's a style of Kung Fu formed after them. Majestic, terrifying, but amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this rad video! Have a great weekend! 🐍🐜🐸

Mantis is very special.

They're amazing. Especially if you raise them from hatchlings. Watching them go from tiny murdering machines to slightly bigger murdering machines is quite fun. Out of the "exotic" pets I own, they're by far my favourite. Though I must admit, watching them slowly devour their prey alive has made me google if insects suffer on more than one occasion. They certainly don't treat their food with any compassion. One of mine enjoys eating the limbs of her prey first. She tears them off and sucks them up like pasta. Absolutely glorious.

I remember my praying mantis Freddy Krueger. He was great fun, till his legs started to fall off. He got very old. Good show, Clint.

Clints reaction every time they showed their wings they as great 🥺

When i handled a prey mantis, it will almost look at you with a sign of intelligence

My beautiful wild-caught mantis Maple passed away earlier this September. She had a bad molt, and I had to euthanize her. While she was alive, she was an incredible animal, and I could tell from the way she'd look at me that there was a lot going on in her mind. She was so calculated sometimes; other times she was so aloof she wouldn't see her food, haha. She was the first mantis I found in person, and my first pet mantis. Love this video; please keep doing what you do. :)

Back in college, I had a lot of plants at my place and one day I saw a beautiful green mantis. He/she kept my plants healthy and started coming out on a leaf with his/her front arms extended...so I put my hand there and it climbed up onto it! Had him/her for about a year and every time I walked by, the mantid would want to be held! Loved it!

Love the Buzz Lightyear analogy: “falling in style” 😂

After my wee boy turned sub adult and i put him in an exo tank. He used to watch tv with me. Go over to the side of the viv where his water bottle was to let me know he wanted a drink. He was so personable and intelligent. And their displays even on the relatively plain mantids are really something.☺💖

7:19 I found a mantis on a fence when I was a kid and brought it into my house. I went to show my mom, she screamed then Mr Mantis surprised me with his flying skills as he flew off my hand onto the top of my moms head. She turned deathly pale and screamed louder than he flew onto a curtain. Caught him and put him back onto his fence. Was a hilarious turn of events.

Nothing is better than watching an expert explain a creature in lovely and practical detail before seeing it's antics and switching to Pet Owner and begin cooing at it in sheer delight. Absolutely adorable as well as useful. You've done amazing in ambassador-ing these critters, thank you!

Dang I bet Clint is like one of the best dads ever, he’s practically the Mr.Rodgers of the reptile community.

0:33 "Possibly the most terrifying animal in world" *Mantis helplessly fall like a ragdoll, squirming around for assistance*

My wife recently had a baby, so I haven't been on KZfaq that much the last 6 months or so! I have a lot to catch up with on this channel. You've posted so much amazing content lately!!

I found this little meadow a couple years back that at a certain time of year, is just covered in praying mantises, probably one adult per every 8" squared. They range from nearly green to yellow to brown to copper...and some of the brown / copper ones have bits of blue on them. I would lie on the ground and the would crawl all over me almost instantly. When walking around the meadow, the mantises would fly and land on you. And if you left the meadow by even 10 feet...no more mantises. I wish they had a longer lifespan.

Definitely the coolest bugs. I love that they're expressive and their head is articulated. Like Betta fish, and jumping spiders, they will turn their head to observe you and look at you. They also seem to be unafraid of people. They might fly away once when you find them in the wild, but you walk up again and they just look at you and say "What's up?" and climb on your finger no problem.

This is an old video, but I wanted to drop a comment thanking you guys for making it because this was a large influence on my decision to get a pet mantis and it's been such a delightful, rewarding journey keeping her. This was one of the handful of videos I watched on rotation in preparation for getting her and I still return to it sometimes just because the up-close footage of the mantises is so cute.

I have had 20+ mantises and I can say they are amazing pets!! They are really easy to take care, and the only down side is that they are a bit delicate and they don’t live long. If you get one please take care of it well. Also my favorite species that I have raised was a ghost mantis. He was just really small

A couple of summers ago I was into keeping pet spiders so I would spend hours per day searching my yard for small insects to feed my spiders. One day I stumbled across an adult female preying mantis in my tomato plants, and I was delighted by her! I kept her and took great care of her. I have many videos of her catching and eating various insects from flys to caterpillars to spiders to centipedes. It turns out she already had mated before I found her and in the late summer she made 3 egg pods. She died not long afterward and I still have her dried up body. She was a wonderful pet. The egg pods dried up and become as hard as rocks but I kept them nonetheless. I kept them in a jar outside just incase they were to hatch. After a few months I was sitting outside smoking, only a couple of feet from the egg pods. It was an extremely humid spring afternoon. I noticed a few tiny mantises crawling on my chair. I grabbed up the jar and took a look and sure enough all three had burst open and very tiny mantises were crawling out of them. There must have been 200 of them. I took the jar and sat it under a hedge and the next day they had all made their way out into the world. A very lovely experience.

I've been thinking about getting a praying mantis for a while now. I feel like they are a great beginner type of exotic pet to keep, it's not a 10 year commitement and they are so frickin' cool! They remind me of the carnivorous plants I keep, harmless to me, but the most horrific nightmare mother nature could concuct for insects. I could not agree more on the "they scream intelligence, even if they'r not". I can't get one right now, because I'm probably gonna have to do a big move soon, but once my whole living situation is done I might get one for sure :) This video was a spectacular help and well of information! Thanks guys

These guys are definitely the best pet insect. It's just bitter sweet. Had the pleasure of having one as kid she lived her life on a plant on the porch where all her needs were taken care of

I love praying mantises because they look so pretty and innocent on the outside, but in reality they’re incredibly cannibalistic and honestly they’re just mini monsters. I think it’s so interesting that a creature can look so sweet on the outside and actually be very cruel and aggressive. I mean, a lot of animal species are cannibalistic and all that, but it’s a bit different with mantises. I just love them so much.

Even though filming the black widow is still my favorite, these little garden ninjas are a close second. Fun, inquisitive little beauties 😍 And as an avid gardener, LOVE all my little guardians that protect my beloved plants. Happy Saturday CRV fam! I CAN'T WAIT for you to see what we have coming out soon! ✌️😁💋

I just found an adult chinese mantis while brewing beer and after a couple quick searches I decided to capture her. This video is very true and accurate in my experience being a mantis owner for about 2 weeks so far!

I love these videos so much, I’m so glad I found this channel. Clint, you’re stinkin’ rad.

I’ve kept orchids and Creobroter before, and they’re both some of my most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had with keeping pets. Such charming insects, almost like cats, miss them so much.

I remember once when I was a kid I had a small (about an inch or inch and a half) brown mantis climb onto my hand and was content to sit there. While it was, I caught a fly with my other hand and held it to the mantis by its wings. The mantis snatched the fly out of my fingers and started eating it. It was so cool to watch up close and I'm pretty sure that memory is gonna be staying with me awhile

I've also been curious about the praying mantis's intelligence. They almost seem to be able to interpret human intentions. For instance, there was a praying mantis on the sidewalk, and I wanted to make sure she didn't get crushed, but like you said, you don't really want to grab an insect, so I just put my hand in front of her and she crawled right up. Then I moved my hand over to some grass, and she crawled right down. I feel like most insects would assume I wanted to eat them, but this one seems to know that I won't. They're really neat animals, and I'm glad I'm able to appreciate that at my size, because if I were a lot smaller, I would not appreciate their habit of eating things alive with their finger-mustache mouth.

That into was intense 😂😂😂 But you're right, they are super rad little aliens

23 years ago, my fourth grade classmates and I found a mantis on a field trip in Indiana. Gorgeous green, we took her back with us, and our teacher set up a terrarium and even found her a mate! It was one of my most memorable experiences coming back over the weekend too see a hundred babies eating her after getting to know and watch over her all spring! It made me a more empathetic person. And... nostalgic. And goth lol Also this was just a nice vid to watch. Thank you 🙃

I’ve loved mantises since childhood. The way they turn their head to look at you or targeted prey is uncanny, as if they are thinking and planning. It matches their deliberate stalking walk. And they are spectacular to look back at.

My boys have kept a few Mantids over the summer in enclosures. I introduced a male to one of the females. Decapitation was instant and she threw him on her back to begin the process. Nightmarish is all I can say. I’m just glad the kids weren’t around for that, not something I particularly wanted to explain to them. 😂 Anyway, 2 females have produced 2 ootheca each so far! Cant wait for spring to see if they hatch. 😎

I actually used to fear insects as a kid. My grandfather decided to help me with this by starting me with a little brown and black 'wooley bear' caterpillar, and the next year introduced me to Praying Mantises. I've loved these ever since, so fascinating to watch and handle.

I used to breed mantis, my room was wall to wall pots and vivs full of thrm and I still have so much time for them. Gutted I never got to breed idolos or gigas, but I bred pretty much every other species. Even got the claim to fame of being the first person to breed one species in captivity. 😁 Theyre amazing critters, start with a larger species like an African giant and have fun. :)

I recently went to a pet expo and bought a praying mantis. Very cool pet so far especially because my wife is terrified of most snakes and lizards (but not insects for some reason.

"Insects are special." I really like that, it kinda warmed my heart for some reason

Really, most of those are excellent starter pets. They are not boring, and most are even easy to keep, and then wont hurt their owners I mean, sure they need live food and they are often needed to be kept solitary, and some mantis species are in fact hard to keep, but besides that, no. And yes, they are vicious....praying mantis eat their food as they grab it. If the prey is grabbed with the head ending up closest to the mouth of the mantis, lucky him/her, because then they will die quicker, but often they are eaten with their backend going first.

We had an orchid mantis and it was the most beautifully strange creature I’ve ever seen! Stinkin rad pets!

They're not really pet material, but I would love to see you talk about dragonflies someday. Just amazing little predators with some very cool features

I hatched a Chinese Green mantis ooth last year and it was the best experience! The nymphs are ADORABLE.

I've always wanted a mantis, and thanks to Clint, I have now ordered one.

6:44 "The mantis can be intimidating" The mantis: dropping fire rap lyrics in mantese

"possibly the most terrifying animal in the world" *Help me i've fallen and I can't get up!*

"Possibly the most terrifying animal in the world" *Praying mantis derping on the table*

So today I went to Home Depot to buy a fern for my room, I brought the plant home repotted it and brought it upstairs to my room. After setting it down I realized there was a mantis 2 inches away from my head as I was setting down the plant. He or she has been very content in my room on my fern, I just misted the leaf above him/her and they went up to get a drink. I feel very accomplished :) But this video is very helpful now that I’m caring for my new room mate

I have a green one, I found her yesterday and she’s so attached to me!! I feed her flies and other bugs, and likes to chill on my bonsai tree. She likes to be carried when I want

Thank you so much for putting info up about mantids. I had one and plan to get another. They are fantastic pets. Crickets can be dangerous for a number of reasons for mantids though so i feed other feeders to them. My wee dead leaf boy was a joy to have. I lost him recently after having him for nearly a year and i miss his happy bobbing but i know i gave him a good life and will definitely be getting more.

Clint, 6 months ago when I found your channel I had never really thought about reptiles as animals, let alone as a pet. Now, after watching just about every single video you've put out, I'm the proud owner of the world's sweetest Bluey and a wonderful Fire skink. Thank you for showing me the wonders of reptiles, you're the most skinkin rad guy on KZfaq.

when i had a praying mantis it would happily ride on my shoulder for hours, even on walks

i love how clint compliments the mantis wings and movements, so kind to then.

Clint is the ray of delight we don’t deserve. He is too damn pure. 🤗❤️🦎🐢🐍🦉

Love this video! My boyfriend has always loved praying mantis, and ive been considering creating a terrarium and keeping one for him. As always im doing my research and your videos are always simple and informative.

Oh cool! We get to learn about praying mantises today! *Clint proceeds to explain how females go about mating with decapitated males* Hot dang, Mother Nature! 😱

I have been keeping mantids for a few years I am considering getting my first orchid mantid now. I love em

There is a mantis hanging out on my porch and plants. I've been talking to it every day and saying hi. I put my finger in front of it but it hasn't reached out. Getting up the nerve to let him walk on my hand. They are so cool looking. Totally alien. I love how they look right at you.

“Little horror shows” with “groovy” wings is a great way to describe the preying mantis. When I was about 10 I found a large (female?) preying mantis on the hood of my dad’s car - his car was black & the mantis was a brilliant green! I put it into a 10 gal tank with a few small potted plants and a screen cover on our shaded back porch. Every few days that summer I’d rally my friends together for an “insect posse” to find lunch for my new pet. After collecting a few grasshoppers, crickets, bees, etc. we’d assemble for a feeding show (aka “Roman forum”) in my back yard. It’s amazing how quickly &!accurately they can snatch a flying insect from mid-air, it’s actually motion that triggers their feeding response. As my brother quickly discovered the preying mantis can deliver a painful pinch with its forelegs and then can also bite with their very sharp mouthparts. They can also fly and small ones can be mistaken for grasshoppers when they take wing. They can travel a considerable distance when threatened and are nearly impossible to locate if they land in tall grass or twigs & foliage.

This was very helpful. I won't be afraid of these little "garden bouncers". I recently started a vegetable garden and realize that the orange tree had become infested with mealybugs. Looking into ways to get rid of the bugs without damaging the tree or fruit. I found ladybug and praying mantis as my life line. Lowe's had both for sale. One egg can have from 100 to 200 mantis in each one. I was going to let the egg hatch in the container it came in. But to now hear they eat one another. I'm going to tie it on to the actual tree. Thanks again

Consider, if you like, doing a video similar to this one on millipedes. I keep a millipede I found as a pet and it's been really enjoyable to have. It's also just about the easiest and cheapest pet one could possibly imagine. Not to mention he's also pretty dang cute and super handleable!

Clint: loves mantids because they are scary, pugnacious and sanguinary. Me: loves praying mantises because they are like tiny cunning people with a wide variety of body AND facial expressions while the rest of insects are literally like 🗿

I’m jelly at 3:37 when the mantis jumps up on Clint’s hand. Not only stinkin rad, but stinkin cute!

I currently have a darling little Giant Asian Mantis, about 4 months old, and I love him very much. It was this video that inspired me to get him a few months ago and I could not be more thankful

I honestly think the YT Show should be named Clint’s Critters so that other pets (unusual or otherwise) can be involved, as well as the awesome snakes and lizards! 😀

Fun fact - the closest relatives to the mantids are, of all things, cockroaches.

"Approaching a female is a very dangerous game." As in real life.

How she turns her head gives me goosebubs.

Yes thankfully we are larger than them... Still didn't stop one from trying to attack me though. Was picking flowers and it snagged my finger. Found it after I panic flung it (it was ok), caught it, made a home in a large tank with some of the dead brush for it, and routinely bought crickets for it to eat. Had it for about a year and was sad to see it go.

You should do a video on keeping ants. The colonies live for years and the longest documented queen lived over 40!!

could you do madagascar hissing cockroaches?? i love them so much 🥺

Storytime... I've found that some mantid species live a little longer than others. They are temperature and humidity sensitive and if the room you keep them in gets cold in the winter, it seems to trigger the end of their life cycle. They'll do things like stop eating, which is something you can't really help. They usually do this after mating. Also, the males don't live nearly as long. I used to keep mantises when I lived in Washington state. I had one for about two years without much trouble because I kept her away from males. If they lay that egg cast, the ootheca, that's pretty much it. They won't eat after that. Also, I was able to learn this because I caught a pregnant female and got to keep the ootheca that was attached to the little stick I put in there. Other than the fact that I'd seen them before, I'd had no idea that it was a mantis egg sac. This was pre-Google, so I had to look at an online encyclopedia of entomology to learn that those ootheca take well over a year and a half to mature. Sometimes longer, depending on the humidity and temperature. I kept the ootheca in a clean, ventilated display case. It did hatch and because my display case had holes, they escaped and apparently wandered around the bedroom, cannibalizing each other. There were eight when I found them. There had been more. I don't know how many, but there was evidence in the number of legs that there had been at least two others. I released them outside, all but three, which I learned quickly can't be kept around each other. I ended up with two in the room, one in an enclosure on either side. They seem to stress each other out if they can see each other, even at a distance. They didn't eat if they could see each other. I don't know, maybe it reminded them of their tragic childhoods.

I started with reptiles and at a show I worked at I came across mantises. I’M IN LOVE! I now have four. Two Asian Giants, A spiney flower, and A ghost mantis!

You must be the best dad to go on buy hunts with! Your kids are so lucky to have you as a dad!

my favorite insect

This guy:"Praying mantis, the best pet insect" *ants* *canada* *would* *like* *to* *know* *your* *location*

Lol just in time for valentines day, that description of their amores will haunt me forever

I love the orchid mantis. Had one named flower for a pet for almost a year. Most beautiful insect.

That thumbnail though! Only a mantis could look that innocent while eating something alive.