Our Praying Mantis

James caught a Praying Mantis this past week.  He was so excited!  He spent all day long studying the Mantis.  He wanted to watch it eat.

 You see his field guide there in his hand.  He had to look it up and study closely what a Mantis would eat. 

He discovered one of the things it would eat was flies and moths.  So, he chose to put the cat food out and try to attract flies so the Mantis would have his dinner.  It was a hot day and I think he sat out there for an hour with a book just reading and watching the insect.

He was so disappointed when his pet would not eat a fly in that hour so he decided to go hunting to help catch dinner for him.  The tricky part was that he was trying to catch dinner and keep it alive.  That took him another hour or so.

 Then, he needed to make a good habitat for the Mantis.

After researching habitats he decided the first one wasn't big enough and it didn't have sticks for the Mantis to climb on.  So, Mr. Mantis got an upgrade.  Except for occasional trips outside or around the house to try to catch prey James' eyes were on that Mantis all day long.  Finally, right before bedtime he excitedly announced that the Mantis was indeed feasting on his prey.  Fortunately for me, I got to hear all about it in great detail.  However, for your sake I will spare the specific body parts that were eaten and in what order. ;)

Two days later, Timothy caught another Praying Mantis and they kept that one for a day or so.  However, they were saddened greatly when the second one became less active.  We think perhaps it was laying eggs.  Just in case, he decided to take it and put it in a safe spot and he selflessly allowed the other one to go free as well.  It was a great adventure for them.  James really enjoyed learning all about the Insects as well as the adventure of catching its dinner.  He is already planning for more pets in the future.