Praying mantis for spotted lanternfly
Praying mantises were the most-reported arthropod predator (chickens led among birds) in Penn State's 'Birds Biting Bad Bugs' citizen-science project, which drew 660 photos and observations, mostly from Pennsylvania. In Penn State enclosure trials, Carolina and Chinese mantises and spined soldier bugs were the most effective predators tested, whatever the lanternflies' life stage. A 2025 study in China found that the Chinese mantis, the largest of five mantis species tested, ate more adult lanternflies than the others. None of this measures whether mantises reduce lanternfly numbers: Penn State says more research is needed, and calls predators one part of an integrated programme, not a standalone control.
Before you act
The most famous beneficial insect, and one of the least useful as pest control. A mantis eats whatever it can catch, including bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other predators. The egg cases sold for gardens are Chinese mantis cases, which ARBICO says are collected in the wild, and the hatchlings scatter or eat each other. It is a welcome resident worth recognising, not something to buy. How to recognise it, what it is confused with and how to keep it around are on the full Praying mantis profile.
Other controls for spotted lanternfly
- Wheel bugWild predator · Wild — conserve; not sold