Books and kit for mantis fans
A short, sensible list. You don’t need any of it to enjoy mantises.
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Books
- Insect field guidesFor telling a mantis from a stick insect, a grasshopper or a mantis fly.
- Insect books for childrenLook for ones written with naturalists or scientists.
- Minibeast booksMantises alongside the rest of the garden crowd.
Looking closer
- A magnifying glassFor eyes, spiny legs and egg cases. Look, don’t poke.
- Children’s binocularsFor watching from a distance on holiday somewhere warm.
- Insect colouring booksMantis green is optional. They come in brown too.
For drawing and recording
- Nature journalsSomewhere to note what you saw, where and when.
- Coloured pencilsFor field sketches.
None of these are for keeping mantises: this site doesn’t give pet-keeping advice. So if you find one in Britain, the Oxford museum suggests asking whether it’s a pet. Oxford University Museum of Natural History: Mantodea