LUNCH WITH BOOKS: The World of the MANTIS & Mantis-Cam!

July 06, 2021
12:00pm - 1:00pm

OCPL staff member Nayt Knapp is an insect enthusiast. Specifically, he is a big fan of the order Mantodea, better known as Mantises. The order features more than 2,400 species living all over the globe in temperate zones. Most people are familiar with the triangular heads, alien-like eyes, long slender bodies, long folded arms, and green hue of the ambush predator commonly known as the “praying mantis.” These are typically of the European and Chinese varieties common in the United States, which are actually invasive species. Mantises have been part of human culture, art, and myth since ancient times. 

In this conversation, Nayt will address questions about mantises, including: How long do they live? What do they eat? What's sexual cannibalism? Can they fly? Are they dangerous to humans? How smart are they? Do they make good pets? Is it illegal to kill one? Nayt will also tell us all about the exciting new Mantis-CAM and Vivarium exhibit at the library.

This program will be available to watch live on Facebook Live, on YouTube, and on the OCPL website's LWB Livestream page.  Log into your Facebook or YouTube account during the program to leave questions for our presenters in the comments box. They will answer them during the live broadcast.

PREVIEW OUR MANTIS CAM!

Our Mantis-CAM and vivarium will be on display inside the main entrance of the Library starting the week of July 6. In the meantime, you can watch our baby mantises preparing to molt from the safety of our office prior to the move into a fully functioning vivarium in a public setting where Library guests and patrons can come and see our growing mantises in person during regular library hours. The Mantis-CAM will live stream 24-hours a day allowing anybody anywhere to check in on our mantises anytime!

What you are viewing above is a live stream feed of our baby mantises. You might not see too much movement immediately, but if you have patience and wait a bit, you might notice a fruit fly flicker by, or our mantis expanding and contracting its abdomen, or even doing a little dance. You might even be lucky enough to catch our mantis feeding (that's what the fruit flies are for) or molting—how cool is that! Check in often and watch our mantises grow with us, then stop by the Library starting July 6 to see them in person. 
— View our Mantis-CAM anytime at https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/programs/ocpl-mantis-cam/7484.

OUR MANTISES NEED NAMES!

Help us name these sweet little girls — one is brown and one is green. But we can't keep calling them Brownie and Greenie forever (or Sassy Sally and Chill Jill as they have recently been named as we begin to socialize them). They need names! That's where you come in. Use this FORM to send us your name nominations.

Just look a how cute Brownie, aka Chill Jill is! We can hardly stand it. What would you name her? Send us your suggestions through the online naming form. 

On July 15 at our final PU Livestream Bugs & People, we will choose the winners! In addition to the honor of naming the first two OCPL Mantis-Cam Mantises, the winners will receive a fabulous Mantis-Themed gift and a gift certificate to a local restaurant!

FEATURED BOOKS: Kids books about mantises and other interesting insects. Juvenile collections are great for kids, but you don't have to be a child to learn from them. TV quiz show Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer, whom the Washington Post called “undeniably the most dynamic, unstoppable force in the show’s modern 35-year history,” used a secret weapon—children’s books—to become a game-show millionaire. Holzhauer told the New York Times that reading kids’ books was part of his Jeopardy! strategy, and said the library’s children’s section is the place to go for books “tailored to make things interesting for uninterested readers.” Read more...

Lunch With Books Livestream starts at noon on Facebook and YouTube.

Subscribe to the Lunch With Books Youtube channel or like us on the Lunch With Books Facebook page or to receive notifications of our upcoming LWB broadcasts. To receive emails about our upcoming programs, visit our News page, click the "Subscribe" button to sign-up for our news blasts or download our free OCPL Connect app from your smartphone's app store. 

"Lunch With Books" is the library’s flagship program for adult patrons. These lunchtime programs feature authors, poets, musicians, historians, and more every Tuesday at noon. Bring lunch (to your computer), feed your brain!