what do praying mantis eat

What Do Praying Mantis Eat? The Surprising 20-Item Menu That Includes Hummingbirds

Did you know that a single praying mantis can consume up to 16 crickets in a single day, yet will starve to death if offered a dead insect? Here's a statistic that challenges everything you think you know about garden predators: researchers have documented mantises successfully capturing and consuming prey up to three times their own body length, including animals we typically consider predators themselves. The mantis diet reads like a buffet of the insect world, but with some shocking entries that have been captured on video and confirmed by entomologists—including hummingbirds, small rodents, and even fish. Understanding what mantises eat isn't just fascinating biology; it's essential knowledge for anyone keeping them as pets or relying on them for garden pest control.

The praying mantis is nature's most patient and effective ambush predator. With lightning-fast reflexes, swiveling heads that can rotate 180 degrees, and raptorial front legs lined with sharp spines, these insects are built for one purpose: catching and consuming other living things. But their diet is far more varied and complex than most people realize. From tiny newly hatched nymphs eating fruit flies to adult females consuming vertebrates, the mantis menu changes dramatically throughout their lives. For enthusiasts looking to provide optimal nutrition for pet mantises or attract them to gardens, resources like free sample packs can help establish healthy feeder insect populations that sustain mantises through every life stage.

The Hunting Strategy: How Mantises Capture Prey

Before diving into specific foods, understanding how mantises hunt explains what they can eat.

The Ambush Predator
Mantises are sit-and-wait predators. They remain motionless for hours or even days, camouflaged against vegetation, waiting for prey to wander within striking range. This energy-conserving strategy allows them to survive long periods between meals while remaining ready to explode into action when opportunity arises.

The Strike
When prey comes within range, the mantis strikes with blinding speed. The strike takes just 50-70 milliseconds—faster than the human eye can follow. The raptorial front legs extend outward, then snap shut, trapping the prey between spiny tibia and femur. Once captured, escape is virtually impossible; the spines interlock, creating an inescapable cage.

The Meal
The mantis begins eating immediately, typically starting with the head or neck to immobilize the prey quickly. Using powerful mandibles, it tears and consumes the prey piece by piece. Mantises are messy eaters, often dropping bits of exoskeleton and wings as they feed.

Size Limitations
While mantises can take surprisingly large prey, they do have limits. The primary constraint is their ability to physically subdue the prey with their front legs. If prey is too large or powerful, it may escape or even injure the mantis. As a general rule, mantises can safely consume prey up to their own body size, and occasionally up to twice their size with successful ambushes.

The Complete Praying Mantis Diet: By Life Stage

What mantises eat changes dramatically as they grow. Here's a comprehensive breakdown by life stage:

Newly Hatched Nymphs (L1-L2)
When mantises first hatch from the ootheca, they're tiny—often just a few millimeters long. At this stage, they require appropriately sized prey:

Fruit flies: Both wingless and flying varieties are ideal first foods
Aphids: Soft-bodied and abundant in spring gardens
Springtails: Tiny jumping insects found in soil and leaf litter
Thrips: Microscopic insects that infest plants
Small gnats: Fungus gnats and similar tiny flies
Micro-crickets: Newly hatched crickets (pinheads)

At this stage, nymphs need food every 1-2 days and will eat surprisingly large quantities relative to their body size. Without appropriately sized prey, they will starve or resort to cannibalism.

Growing Nymphs (L3-L6)
As mantises grow through successive molts, their prey size increases accordingly:

Small crickets: 1/4 to 1/2 inch crickets become staple foods
House flies: Captured in mid-air by skilled hunters
Moths: Small moths provide good nutrition
Grasshoppers: Small grasshoppers and nymphs
Cockroach nymphs: Small dubia or other roach species
Waxworms: Soft-bodied larvae (in moderation)
Mealworms: Small mealworms, though the hard exoskeleton can be challenging
Spiders: Small spiders of various species

At this stage, mantises become more adventurous and will attempt to catch flying insects, developing the coordination needed for adult hunting.

Subadult and Adult Mantises (L7-Adult)
Adult mantises are capable of taking the largest prey:

Large crickets: Adult crickets up to 1 inch or larger
Grasshoppers: Full-sized grasshoppers and locusts
Moths and butterflies: Including fairly large species
Flies: Bluebottles, greenbottles, and other large flies
Bees and wasps: Mantises regularly catch and eat stinging insects (they seem immune to venom)
Beetles: Various beetle species, though hard shells may be rejected
Cockroaches: Adult dubia, hissing, or other roach species
Caterpillars: Large, soft-bodied caterpillars
Dragonflies: Occasionally caught by skilled hunters near water
Other mantises: Cannibalism is common, especially during mating

Adult females, with their larger size and greater nutritional needs for egg production, are capable of taking the largest prey and will eat more frequently than males.

The Shocking Truth: Vertebrates on the Menu

While mantises primarily eat insects, documented observations confirm they occasionally consume small vertebrates. These cases are rare but well-documented by researchers and photographers.

Hummingbirds
Perhaps the most shocking mantis prey is hummingbirds. Multiple documented cases exist of mantises capturing and consuming these tiny birds. Here's what happens:

Mantises ambush hummingbirds at feeders or flowers, striking when the bird lands
The mantis grips the bird's head or neck with its spiny front legs
The bird is typically unable to escape due to the mantis's grip and spines
The mantis begins eating, often starting with the head
Consumption can take several hours

While disturbing to bird lovers, these incidents are relatively rare and typically involve larger mantis species like the Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) preying on smaller hummingbird species. If you maintain hummingbird feeders, positioning them away from dense vegetation where mantises lurk can reduce risk.

Small Lizards and Geckos
In warmer regions, mantises have been documented catching small lizards and geckos. The ambush strategy works similarly to insect hunting: the mantis waits on vegetation where lizards forage, strikes when the reptile comes within range, and consumes it over hours or days.

Small Fish
Remarkably, some mantis species have been observed catching small fish. In captivity and rare wild observations, mantises positioned at water's edge have struck at and caught small fish near the surface. This demonstrates the mantis's ability to adapt its hunting to whatever prey presents itself.

Small Rodents
There are isolated reports of mantises capturing very small rodents like baby mice. These cases are extremely rare and require the mantis to be exceptionally large and the rodent exceptionally small and vulnerable.

Small Snakes
A few documented cases exist of mantises capturing and consuming tiny, newly hatched snakes. Like other vertebrate prey, these represent opportunistic feeding when the mantis encounters vulnerable individuals.

It's important to note that these vertebrate prey items represent exceptions, not the rule. The vast majority of a mantis's diet consists of insects and other arthropods. Vertebrate prey is only taken when the mantis is large enough, the prey is small enough, and opportunity presents itself.

What Mantises Eat in Captivity: A Pet Owner's Guide

If you keep mantises as pets, providing appropriate food is essential for health, growth, and longevity.

Staple Feeder Insects
These insects form the foundation of a healthy captive mantis diet:

Crickets: The most common feeder insect. Gut-load (feed nutritious food) before offering to mantises.
Fruit flies: Essential for tiny nymphs; available in wingless and flying varieties.
Dubia roaches: Excellent nutrition, easy to keep, and don't climb smooth surfaces.
House flies: Great for nymphs and adults; can be cultured at home or purchased as pupae.
Bluebottle flies: Larger than house flies, excellent for larger mantises.
Grasshoppers/locusts: Excellent nutrition but can be challenging to source.
Waxworms: High-fat treat, not suitable as staple food.
Mealworms: Can be offered but hard exoskeleton may be difficult for some mantises.

Feeding Frequency by Age
How often to feed depends on mantis age and size:

L1-L3 nymphs: Feed daily or every other day, providing 2-3 appropriately sized prey items
L4-L6 nymphs: Feed every 2-3 days, providing 3-4 prey items
L7-subadult: Feed every 3-4 days, providing 4-5 prey items
Adults: Feed every 3-5 days, providing 3-5 prey items depending on size
Females producing oothecae: Feed more frequently (every 2-3 days) with larger prey

Always observe your mantis's abdomen. A well-fed mantis has a rounded, full abdomen. A flat or concave abdomen indicates underfeeding.

What NOT to Feed Mantises
Some foods are dangerous or inappropriate for mantises:

Wild-caught insects from treated areas: May contain pesticides that will kill your mantis
Fireflies/lightning bugs: Toxic to mantises (and most other animals)
Very hard-bodied beetles: Difficult to digest, may cause impaction
Prey larger than the mantis: Risk of injury to the mantis
Dead insects: Mantises only eat live, moving prey
Human food: Mantises cannot digest plant matter or processed foods
Vertebrate prey in captivity: Generally unnecessary and potentially harmful

Gut-Loading and Dusting
To maximize nutrition, enhance feeder insects before offering them:

Gut-loading: Feed crickets and roaches nutritious food (commercial gut-load diets, fresh vegetables, fruits) for 24-48 hours before offering to mantises
Dusting: Lightly coat feeder insects with calcium powder (without D3) every 2-3 feedings, especially for growing nymphs and egg-producing females

Water: As Important as Food

While understanding what mantises eat is crucial, knowing how they drink is equally important for captive care.

How Mantises Drink
Mantises don't drink from open water sources like bowls. Instead, they drink water droplets from leaves and enclosure surfaces. In captivity:

Mist the enclosure lightly every 1-2 days
Ensure droplets form on leaves and mesh
Allow the mantis to drink these droplets
Avoid over-misting, which can lead to mold and respiratory issues

Hydration During Starvation
Mantises can survive longer without food than without water. Even during food scarcity, providing water through misting significantly extends survival time. Dehydrated mantises won't eat, so always ensure adequate hydration before troubleshooting food refusal.

Seasonal Variations in Wild Mantis Diet

In nature, mantis diet changes with seasonal prey availability.

Spring Diet
When mantises hatch in spring, they feed on:

Aphids and other small, soft-bodied insects
Tiny caterpillars
Small flies and gnats
Springtails and other soil-dwelling arthropods

Summer Diet
As mantises grow and prey becomes abundant, summer diet expands:

Grasshoppers and crickets
Moths and butterflies
Bees, wasps, and other flying insects
Spiders and other arachnids
Beetles and true bugs
Other mantises (cannibalism increases as populations grow)

Fall Diet
In fall, as temperatures drop and prey becomes scarce:

Remaining insects of all types
Late-season grasshoppers and crickets
Any available prey before frost
Increased cannibalism as food becomes scarce

Cannibalism: When Mantises Eat Mantises

Perhaps the most famous aspect of mantis diet is cannibalism, particularly during and after mating.

Sexual Cannibalism
Female mantises sometimes eat males during or after mating. This behavior is well-documented but less common in the wild than in captivity. Research suggests:

Occurs in 13-28% of observed matings in the wild
More common in captivity due to stress and confinement
More likely when females are hungry
Provides nutritional benefits to females for egg production
Males sometimes continue mating even after being decapitated

Sibling Cannibalism
Newly hatched mantis nymphs often eat each other if food is scarce. This is why:

Nymphs should be separated soon after hatching if being raised communally
Providing abundant appropriately sized food reduces cannibalism
Some species are more cannibalistic than others

Opportunistic Cannibalism
Mantises of all ages will eat smaller or weaker mantises when opportunity arises. This is simply opportunistic predation, not different from eating any other suitably sized prey.

What Different Mantis Species Eat

Diet can vary somewhat by mantis species:

Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis)
Large, generalist predator. Eats almost anything it can catch, including large insects, and occasionally small vertebrates. Known for hummingbird predation.

European Mantis (Mantis religiosa)
Similar diet to Chinese mantis but somewhat smaller. Prefers flying insects but takes whatever is available.

Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina)
Native North American species. Diet consists primarily of flies, moths, crickets, and grasshoppers. Less likely to take vertebrate prey due to smaller size.

Ghost Mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa)
Specialized for flying prey. Prefers moths, flies, and other flying insects. Less interested in crawling prey.

Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)
Specialized flower mimic. Primarily eats flying insects attracted to flowers, especially butterflies, moths, bees, and flies.

Devil's Flower Mantis (Idolomantis diabolica)
Very large species specializing in flying insects, particularly moths and butterflies. Requires larger prey than most mantis species.

Signs Your Mantis Isn't Eating Properly

Recognizing feeding problems helps you address them quickly:

Normal Food Refusal

Pre-molt fasting (3-10 days before molting)
Temperature-related refusal (too cold)
Recent heavy meal (may refuse for 1-2 days)
Acclimation to new environment (first few days)

Problematic Food Refusal

Extended refusal beyond normal fasting periods
Accompanied by weight loss and abdominal thinning
Weakness, inability to grip
Dehydration signs (wrinkled appearance, sunken eyes)
Refusal extending beyond pre-molt window

Solutions for Feeding Problems

Check and adjust temperature
Ensure adequate hydration through misting
Try different prey species
Offer prey at different times of day
Assist-feed if mantis is severely weakened
Consult mantis care communities for species-specific advice

Conclusion: The Adaptable Appetite of Nature's Ambush Predator

So, what do praying mantis eat? The answer is as varied as the insect world itself, with occasional shocking forays into the vertebrate kingdom. From tiny aphids consumed by newly hatched nymphs to hummingbirds captured by large adult females, the mantis diet reflects the adaptability and opportunism of a predator perfected over 400 million years of evolution.

Understanding this diet is essential for several reasons:

For gardeners: Mantises are valuable allies in pest control, consuming vast quantities of insects that damage plants
For pet keepers: Providing appropriate, varied prey ensures health, successful molting, and longevity
For bird enthusiasts: Awareness of mantis predation on hummingbirds allows protective measures at feeders
For nature lovers: Appreciating the mantis's role in ecosystems deepens our understanding of food webs and predator-prey dynamics

The praying mantis doesn't discriminate based on human preferences. It eats what it can catch, when it can catch it, driven by the same imperative that drives all living things: the need for energy to survive, grow, and reproduce. Whether that energy comes from a cricket, a bee, or occasionally a hummingbird, the mantis simply follows its nature as one of the insect world's most effective predators.

By understanding and respecting that nature, we can better coexist with these remarkable creatures, whether in our gardens or our homes, and appreciate the role they play in the complex web of life that surrounds us.

what do praying mantis eat