Praying Mantis

[pac]

i was wondering could someone tell me what kind of prayer mantis is this and what is it gender i plan on keeping him he just ate a grasshopper

[Lacibeth]

1. How long is it?
2. Can you provide a side shot?

[pac]

it is aboutt 2 to 3 inches

[Lacibeth]

Two of the most common, find 'em all over the place, mantids in the US are the Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) and the Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina). Given that it's only 2" my guess is that it's probably the Carolina mantis. The chinese mantis is usually 3-4" and is either greenish, or has a greenish "strip" down the edge of the front wing.

The other possibility is the European mantis (Mantis religiosa) which is in the 2-3" range but has a black "armpit".

For a 100% ID, check out bugguide.net.

As for sex, females usually have a larger, plumper abdomen and 6 (sometimes 7) segments and are very poor fliers (if they fly at all). Males have a longer, leaner abdomen with 8 segments. Females are typically larger than males overall.

[Whistly]

I think it's a male as a female will have a very wide abdomen. In the photo you I can see that it's body is pretty much a consistent width so I'd say male.

I used to have a female South African praying mantis I started out tempting it with food from my hand and eventually I could hand feed it more than 5 flies at a time.

[pac]

Ok thanks i plan on getting a ghost mantis later