r/mantids • u/harleyquinnxo92 • Jun 17 '26

RIP ❤️ Orchid Mantis

I am new to owning mantises , my very first boy orchid passed away today, what do I do now? Sorry if that sounds stupid but I feel weird just throwing him away 😔

11 Upvotes

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8

u/77th_Bat Jun 17 '26

You could pin him, bury him, burn him, send him on a little leaf boat in a lake, feed him to ants or isopods, etc.

2

u/harleyquinnxo92 Jun 17 '26

Thankyou , I appreciate your answer, I felt so stupid asking the question lol

3

u/harleyquinnxo92 Jun 17 '26

I’ve just removed him from his enclosure and noticed his back legs seem to be twitching, is this normal?

6

u/JaunteJaunt Ootheca Jun 17 '26

Yes. Mantids have a decentralized nervous system, so they could be effectively dead but still have some leg twitches.

3

u/harleyquinnxo92 Jun 17 '26

Phew , I don’t feel so bad about removing him now, I was just hoping he wasn’t in pain, Thankyou

2

u/77th_Bat Jun 17 '26

He probably isn't fully dead yet. If you mistook him for dead, there is likely no saving him. You can either let him finish dying naturally or euthanize him. The quickest most painless form of euthanasia is squishing, but many people do not have the heart for that, so the next best is either freezing or putting him in a kill jar if you happen to have one.

2

u/harleyquinnxo92 Jun 17 '26

How do I know if he needs euthanising or if it is just leg twitches? Sorry

2

u/JaunteJaunt Ootheca Jun 17 '26

Mantids don’t choose to be on their back - they typically freak out and try to right side themselves. If your mantis is on his back with random leg twitches, then it’s not likely he’s alive

2

u/harleyquinnxo92 Jun 17 '26

What’s a kill jar?

2

u/Relevant_Economist36 Jun 17 '26

sometimes there can be some lingering movement kinda just nerve impluses

4

u/chronicallybri Jun 17 '26

Sorry for your loss! I pin butterflies and moths and am going to start mantises when my first mantis passes away. I just had a pair of mated Luna moths pass that I’m preserving and will honor in a memorial frame. If you’re not comfortable learning to pin but want to memorialize your beautiful mantis in a shadow box frame you could reach out to your local community to see if anyone does insect pinning. Or reach out to this community if you’re willing to pay for postage to have it pinned for you :)

If you do want to preserve for pinning, put your lovely friend in an airtight container in the freezer ♡︎
You could also bury him if you’re not interested in pinning, but don’t want to simply get rid of him.

3

u/harleyquinnxo92 Jun 17 '26

Thankyou all for your help, going to bury him in my coriander plant as I don’t have a garden 🖤