No, it is not illegal to kill a praying mantis in Connecticut. No state or federal law prohibits it, and there is no fine or penalty attached. The widely repeated claim that you’ll be hit with a $50 ticket for squashing one is a myth that has circulated since at least the 1950s, and no such statute has ever existed.
Being the State Insect Doesn’t Make It Protected
Connecticut designated the European praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) as its state insect on October 1, 1977.1Justia. Connecticut Code 3-109b – State Insect The statute says only that the praying mantis “shall be the state insect.” No penalties. No protections. No restrictions on what you can do to one.
The designation sits in Chapter 33 of the General Statutes alongside symbols like the American robin (state bird) and mountain laurel (state flower). These are civic identity markers, not wildlife management rules. A state symbol only carries enforcement weight if a separate protection statute exists for it, and none exists for the praying mantis.
It’s Not on Connecticut’s Endangered Species List
Connecticut does protect certain wildlife through its Endangered Species Act, codified in Chapter 495 of Title 26. The General Assembly passed the act in 1989 to conserve, protect, and restore species in danger of disappearing from the state.2Justia. Connecticut Code 26-303 – Findings, Policy The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) keeps the official lists of endangered, threatened, and special concern species.
DEEP’s invertebrate list covers dozens of insects, including tiger beetles, skipper butterflies, bumble bees, various moths, and periodical cicadas.3CT.gov. Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Invertebrates No praying mantis species appears on it. The European mantis is common throughout the state with stable populations, and it doesn’t meet the criteria for listing.
Federal Law Doesn’t Protect Them Either
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains the federal list of insects protected under the Endangered Species Act. That list currently covers 99 species, mostly specific beetles, butterflies, and bees. No praying mantis species is on it.4U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. FWS-Listed U.S. Species by Taxonomic Group – Insects
The European praying mantis isn’t native to North America. It was first documented in the United States in 1899 in New York State and spread from there, and the Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) followed a similar path. Both were introduced partly for pest control and are now widespread. A non-native, deliberately introduced, ecologically stable insect isn’t the kind of species the Endangered Species Act was built to cover.
Reasons to Leave Them Alone Anyway
Legal freedom to kill a mantis doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Mantises are voracious predators that eat aphids, caterpillars, beetles, and other garden pests, and a single mantis can consume hundreds of insects over its lifetime. If you find one in the yard, letting it hunt is usually the better call.
They aren’t selective, though. Mantises will eat beneficial insects like bees and butterflies just as readily as pests, and larger species have been documented catching hummingbirds and small lizards. Useful, but not the precision pest-control tool some gardening guides describe.