Praying Mantis (mantis religiosa): Beneficial insect or garden pest?

By the end of mid summer, my perennial beds directly behind the house are teeming with praying mantis. I have to admit, if I were a mantis, I'd also pick that location. Until late afternoon, those beds are out of the direct sun therefore they stay fairly moist and the foliage in those beds are thick, the flowers often abundant. Moths and crickets and flies and grasshoppers among many other pests gather there, perfect for the carnivorous praying mantis with a ravenous appetite.

They never fail to surprise me. All season long, I'll be tending those beds and won't see a one and then, out of the blue, I'll be watering and the mantis will emerge, rushing to the tip-top of whatever foliage it was hiding under to let me know it doesn't appreciate the shower from the water wand. The larger the mantis the more likely I am to be threatened, angled forearms thrashing the air between us. For the rest of the season, they are an endless source of amusement for me---an organic means of pest control for my flowers.

Some gardeners don't see them in such a bright light. The praying mantis are not particularly choosy in their dining preferences. Needless to say, many a beautiful butterfly has fallen prey once a mantis takes up residence in a butterfly garden. Truly, it's nothing personal. The female mantis will even devour the male while in the midst of a mating session. (The poor fellow at the right has lost his head!) And, a large mantis can take down an unsuspecting hummingbird. So what to do if praying mantis are wreaking havoc? Relocate them!

When my son was a little boy, he would catch a menagerie of threatening creatures with a large glass jar and lid. Using this technique, even the most squeamish can move the praying mantis to another part of the yard/garden without ever having to touch or be touched by it. Moving them to the vegetable garden would help eliminate red spider mites on tomatoes without the need for chemical deterrents. I grow shrub, hedge, and carpet roses which would be an ideal relocation zone for a troublesome mantis. Before long, the aphid population around roses would greatly diminish. And, if my mantis population seems to be overworking the area in which they've picked to reside, I can always take several of them out to my blackberry patch.

The praying mantis is also a pollinator albiet not as effective as the honey bee. But, as the mantis moves from flower to flower in its search for another meal, the pollen collected on its body and legs is transferred. Having weighed the pros and cons of benefit or pest, I just can't kill a hardworking mantis.


Some other interesting facts about the mantis:

It's life span is about 12 months.
It can turn it's head in a 180 degree arc so that it can see completely over its shoulder.
It has three simple eyes sandwiched in between its two large compound eyes, enabling it to see as much as 60 feet in distance.