My mother brought over a preying mantis she caught and I had no idea what to do with it. I thought it was a little gross and even though I wanted to not keep the mantis, the love and excitement on my children’s face and the thrill on my husbands face won me over. I bought this kit and it was a great buy. Our mantis who we named Tofu did just fine in the habitat. We definitely loved the space because she was completely grown and the extra space to hunt was fascinating for the children to see. She only lived another 4 months with us but managed to lay an egg sac before she passed on and now we are waiting for baby mantids!