I just ordered Chinese Mantis egg cases from a supplier and put them in my shrubs (Oklahoma). They supposedly get 5" long if full grown - but I put them out last year and only saw one tiny baby late in the year. They're wonderful for eating bad bugs and don't eat plants - I wouldn't destroy them! When they hatch they are almost too tiny to see, just let nature take its course and maybe the children can enjoy them later. They were a huge joy for me to watch when I was little (in Ohio). If the children pick them up, they won't bite-if they don't pick they up by the hind quarters. (they don't 'hurt' anyway) They exude a "tobacco-like" mixture from their mouth if they're scared but its harmless.

I used to play with them when I was a kid and then finally got bit. It DID hurt and is one of those things that sticks in my mind because I thought they were harmless and it surprised me. lol It was solid snowy white, not the Chinese type back then of course.

I liked Chinese Mantids until I watched the video of one catching a hummingbird. I have a lot of plants in my yard for butterflies and hummingbirds and I'm sure they would eat more than just the bad bugs. I know they eat caterpillars and small frogs and I've wondered if they eat baby birds from nests. Does anyone know? That would be easier to catch than a hummingbird.

The feeding habit of the mantis is to just blend in to the foliage and wait until some hapless prey insect crosses its path. They would not seek out baby birds. In fact I'm thinking that during spring and early summer when birds are nesting, the mantids would still be too small to eat them. And even though the adult Chinese mantids have been known to eat hummingbirds, I think it may be just a little bit over-sensationalized. They primarily eat other insects.

I think you must be right about them not eating baby birds Cindy. That would make sense.
But I searched for "mantis hummingbird" on google images and there's no shortage of photos of them perched and waiting on hummingbird feeders or eating hummingbirds. I relocated one that was on my hummingbird feeder last summer.

christie, you'll have to decide for yourself whether or not to keep the mantid egg cases. ( Understand that each case may contain a couple of hundred eggs.) I, for one, don't allow praying mantids of any kind to remain in my gardens if I spot them. I have an abundance of beneficial insect activity that these 'equal opportunity feeders' prey upon.

I've seen too many butterfly wings on the ground (missing the body), which is the most common evidence. I've caught them stalking foraging bees, as well.

I usually take them over to my neighbor's yard, where they are appreciated....though I'm guilty of feeding spiders every once in a while. ;-)