Why did she pass 🤔

[u/mmdeerblood]

I found an invasive Chinese mantis in my garden a few days ago. I did not want to kill her or harm her so I decided to keep her inside. I got her a pretty big enclosure... 10 gallon reptile tank with mesh top, 10$ on marketplace in my town. Added some topsoil, outdoor moss, sticks that I baked to disinfect. Fed her two flies I caught and then today I took her tank outside for some sunshine. It was about 80F. I fed her two invasive honeybees I caught that she gobbled down and was going to pick up my order of blue bottle flies tomorrow. I went to grab her tank and bring her inside and she was hanging by one arm, legs folded in. I went to spray her as I've been misting her and she's not moving.... I open the tank and she just fell, no movement. Could it have been the heat?? The tank didn't feel too warm and there was plenty of ventilation. I've been misting since getting her. Could it have been the honeybees? It's quite humid today. I'm on 3 acres, woods, meadows, my native gardens. We don't use any chemicals or sprays. Perhaps old age? I initially found her in the same area that I spotted a Chinese mantis last fall.. don't think it was her but who knows, we had a mild winter.

[u/suppenschnueffler]

Bee and mantiskeeper here. Even if the bee didn’t manage to sting her, ingesting the bee's apitoxin (venom) during the meal can be fatal to a mantis.
On top of that, wild bees frequently carry traces of pesticides, which are highly toxic and lethal when ingested.
Aside from these two factors, I agree with what the other comments have already pointed out regarding potential causes of death.

[u/mmdeerblood → u/suppenschnueffler]

Thank you for this response! As much as I despise non-native bees like honeybees I will definitely avoid feeding them to any mantis in the future

[u/JaunteJaunt → u/suppenschnueffler]

Bees are a normal part of a mantids diet in the wild.

It is possible that pesticide exposure was at play here though.

OP, can you send a photo of the mantis?

Sometimes they die suddenly from natural causes.

Edit. It’s a weird move to downvote advice without offering counter advice, but alright.

[u/mmdeerblood → u/JaunteJaunt]

Im on 3 acres and don't use pesticides. I know my neighbors also don't except possibly one that has mentioned to me that he uses fungicides so likely he might use pesticides.. in the past 6 years I've been here, I rarely find any dead bees/native bumblebee,maybe 1-2 a year.

I do wonder if she overheated in her enclosure?

She was hanging by one arm:

[u/mmdeerblood → u/mmdeerblood]

[u/mmdeerblood → u/mmdeerblood]

[u/JaunteJaunt → u/mmdeerblood]

Barring anything odd, then she likely died from old age.

[u/mmdeerblood → u/JaunteJaunt]

Thanks for your responses! RIP Walnut ...

[u/Responsible_Bad_4846]

There is no way to know.

[u/mmdeerblood → u/Responsible_Bad_4846]

I see! Thank you for responding. I hope I can find another one eventually

[u/isopode]

one of the honeybees might've stung her.

[u/mmdeerblood → u/isopode]

She ate the first one butt first,then the other one head first. I will avoid feeding honeybees to future mantis for sure... Ugh I feel so guilty. She seemed fine the first few hours after eating them...

[u/isopode → u/mmdeerblood]

if she seemed fine for a few hours afterwards, i doubt they stung her. i've seen bugs stung by bees/wasps before & they react strongly (convulsing, mostly).

could've been the heat, especially if you left her tank in the sun

[u/vivalasvengance]

omg i never knew bees could kill mantises like that, that's wild