some bugs that stole my heart

[warpdrive]

Hi everyone,

who would have thought that I would collect so many mantids in such a short time.
what can I say, they grew on me. here are a few of my new and old pets that I have right now...

lets start with my first adult Female Ghost...

here she is a few days later...

she has already laid her first ooth. I'm not sure if it is fertile as I never saw the male have contact with her. yet he has been on her back for as long as 24 hours and once that ooth was laid, was right back on her back in under 30 mins. this ooth is huge. an easy 3 1/2" or maybe 4".


next we have D. Lobata. my L1s have all now hit L4 and are doing great.

I got 1 pair of sub adults and one adult female Sibylla prestiosa from Yen last month. my sub adult pair have just turned adult and all are doing great.

here is a closeup of her to show the wonderful detail of her body and regal crown she has on her head. they are a shy mantid but the females are great eaters.

Orchids right out of the box. tell me they are not cute.

here is Ms Cpt Hook. she has since molted fine into L3.

sadly I have 6 females and no males. all L3 by now. if you have a spare male at about the same age, please PM me.

next up, Acanthops. I think I have 2 pair.

I also have a few single pets that I got as gifts and a small bunch of texas unicorns. I'm sure I'll post some photos of them soon.

thanks for viewing,
Harry

 

[Catdragon]

They are beautiful! Where do you get them from? You have a wonderful collection.

 

[hallenhe]

Beautiful bugs! I just love all cryptic insects, and the mantids seem to have cornered the market in that regard. You and a few others are beginning to convince me I need some!

 

[Kansascity]

OMG I am not the only one lol I have a Ghost, and a Orchid nymph lol!!! Small world they are so fascinating....... I am always sure to keep them misted properly, I am having a problem with the dang Fly’s I hatched, and have a hard time getting the buggers from their container into the homes of the mantids.......Any suggestions? Also waiting for the nest I have to hatch ugh 3-6 weeks I bought mine from http://www.mantisplace.com/

 

[Cainschams]

Freaky looking things but neat!! Nice pics!

 

[jojackson]

What Bizarre insects, Nature is awesome!

 

[Action Jackson]

Those are cool. I'm getting more hooked on Mantis everyday. I started raising them to feed my Parson's but now that they're getting big I'm having a hard time feeding them off I'd like to get some Orchid's those things are wicked!

 

[warpdrive]

OMG I am not the only one lol I have a Ghost, and a Orchid nymph lol!!! Small world they are so fascinating....... I am always sure to keep them misted properly, I am having a problem with the dang Fly’s I hatched, and have a hard time getting the buggers from their container into the homes of the mantids.......Any suggestions? Also waiting for the nest I have to hatch ugh 3-6 weeks I bought mine from http://www.mantisplace.com/

the best way to feed is to add the flys to a deli container and put them in the fridge for 20 mins.
then just tap a few in to feed and close the lid fast. as they warm up they will start to fly again. put them back in the fridge and use again as needed. just don't keep them in the fridge for more then an hour and you'll be fine.

I use a vented lid top help them not sweat and to feed/water them.

Harry

 

[fluxlizard]

Very cool Warp.
They look intelligent for some reason.

 

[Cainschams]

the best way to feed is to add the flys to a deli container and put them in the fridge for 20 mins.
then just tap a few in to feed and close the lid fast. as they warm up they will start to fly again. put them back in the fridge and use again as needed. just don't keep them in the fridge for more then an hour and you'll be fine.

I use a vented lid top help them not sweat and to feed/water them.

Harry

Once my pupae start getting older I will hatch out all of my blue bottle flies and put them in the fridge. They last a REALLY long time in there. House flies are a different story though.

Again, neat bugs! I like the Sibylla prestiosa the best!

 

[Aminah Undone]

Absolutely fantastic!!

Have you checked with Yen, for a male L3 Orchid? Hopefully, he can accommodate you!

Beautiful creatures! And really nice to see others enjoy the invert world, too!

 

[warpdrive]

Very cool Warp.
They look intelligent for some reason.

they are extreamly intelligent. I bet that they can even spell better then I.
I have some that love to sit and watch TV with you...

Jared, I too like the Sibylla prestiosa a lot. it's why I got them.
But, they are so shy. they really need to be left alone in the cage or be allowed to free range in a room once in a while by themselfs.

I keep all three together in a net cage 12x12x24 turned on it's side with the clear plastic window facing front. paper towels line the bottom and rear so you can mist and it gets wet...good for molting. misting 3 times a day due to it is a cage and not glass or full plastic like a deli cup. I add plenty of twigs from my "dead ficus collection".
now as adults I only mist once a day just to help the other cages near by to have even more humidity in the air and to let the feeder flys and crickets have a bit to drink.

Harry

 

[sagemoon2004]

Wow, what a treat! I love them all! I so really have to get one of these...thanks for sharing, that was a great treat this evening!

 

[Echoezra]

Wow, they really stole mine too... . This post made me so happy. I love mantises. I wish we could get those crazy awesome kind here in Canada. As far as I know, you can't. By the time I discovered how awesome they were I think they were disallowed or something. But you know what? It's all for the best I guess, cause if I could have gotten mantises, I'd have a house full of those right now, and probably wouldnt have gotten re-interested in chameleons. So I guess i will stick to my garden-centre ooths every spring, and pack my house with chameleons instead.
But please keep sending mantid pics my way so i can live vicariously through you, okay?

 

[James45]

You sure they are no plotting your demise? like Pinky and the Brain

 

[GooglezNvincent]

I have always wondered this question, hopefully you have an answer for it. Is there anything that Mantis breeders can do to prevent the female from killing and eating the male after mating? I always thought about that when seeing some mantis go for $200 I would think you would want to prevent that as much as possible so you are able to get multiple oothas out of the breeding pair.

 

[SarahChamlove]

i have to admit, your collection is very interesting! I love the one that looks like a flower

 

[warpdrive]

I have always wondered this question, hopefully you have an answer for it. Is there anything that Mantis breeders can do to prevent the female from killing and eating the male after mating? I always thought about that when seeing some mantis go for $200 I would think you would want to prevent that as much as possible so you are able to get multiple oothas out of the breeding pair.

not all types of males have to worry about getting his head bit off.
yet some females are so hungry all the time that breeding is difficult. so you remove the female and try to feed her. then while she is busy eating, you bring in the male.

once connected, a male may even live after breeding even with his head removed or bit off. some live a day or two after. yet some will be fully eaten before anything happens. it's just how it is.

Harry

 

[dreamforthedead]

Eew Harry, they still scare me! Lol

 

[KTown333]

Aliens! AHHH