LAME's Collection Thread.

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LAME

Tenodera sinensis (the one and only)
Joined
Jun 16, 2014
Messages
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Location
Virden,Illinois. (217)
I've gotten a few demands from fellow forum members to consider creating my own "collection thread". After a few weeks of pondering the idea and seeing the couple that's already been posted, I've decided to go ahead and release my own. Not all photos are great, a lot of them were taken from my cellphone when I first started this hobby and at the time didn't have access to anything else. I hope you all enjoy...

My first mantis was a lucky find (for the mantis...) by my girlfriend. We had just arrived home and was about to enter our home when suddenly my girlfriend stopped me from taking another step inside the threshold. She then leaned over and scooped up this very tiny little green speck.... After further investigation this speck appeared to be a sort of praying mantis, I hadn't seen one of these since I was a young child! Since she had saved the mantis from being the next addition to my shoe... We took it in and housed it within a wide mouth mason jar with dirt substrate,blades of grass I had cut finely, and a few sticks and twigs. I soon found my way to the forum, joined the community, and made my mandatory introduction... After asking around the forum I soon found out the exact species I had in my care, a Tenodera sinensis.

Any member that's been here for the passed 8 months or longer may already know this story... But for those of you that don't, Echo was indeed that special mantis. The one that stands out from the rest and you can't help but get too attached to, something truly special. She was my first "Pet" mantis and the mantis that started the hobby for me.

06.03.14: Found/Rescued.



During the first month of owning Echo, I had found numorus other Tenodera and even held onto 2 others I won't include. One was a small nymph named: Loki, that I released a few days after keeping and another L3/4 with a completely missing rear leg that I properly named: TriPod... I did keep TriPod, but unfortunately She was lost at subadult. Though she did regenerate the rear leg and get sometime to enjoy it before her passing...

08.03.14: Echo reaches subadult.



08.21.14: Echo reaches adulthood.



09.25.14: Submitted Echo's photo into the "2015 Forum Members Calendar."



My good friend and fellow forum member: Mantidbro was kind enough to send me his finest breeding male so I could at least try to breed my first mantis.

09.27.14: Mated.



Echo was one of a kind, and she opened up a beautiful hobby to me I would've never thought myself apart of. She lived a great mantis life and I did everything I could to ensure it with her massive homes, wide variety diet, and plenty of roaming time...

And for all my efforts, she left me 6 fat ooths and one final photo shoot...

12.16.14: Passed.



 
After owning Echo and the few other (wild) Tenodera, I decided to go ahead and try my luck with an exotic mantis. At the time I didn't have much experience and wanted to go with something within the so called " beginner's class "... So I scouted the forum's classifieds section and committed to my first purchase through a breeder and fellow forum member: Mantidbro. ( at this point in time, I didn't know Mantidbro... But after the purchase we became great friends...) Through him I acquired my very first exotics, Parasphendale agrionina.

07.10.14: Two African budwing mantids acquired.



09.03.14: Tiberius molts to subadult.



09.09.14: Chronos molts to subadult.



09.27.14: Tiberius molts to adulthood.



10.07.14: Chronos molts to adulthood.



12.22.14: Both Chronos and Tiberius passed.

I unfortunately wasn't able to get either of my boys a mate, so they passed away lonely like... :(

 
Within the final few months of summer I managed to stumble upon a nice location where my next species was found. I went to this certain location for a few weeks and each visit I'd come across handfuls at a time! It was a whole new experience with mantids for me. So, after I played with many like a child in a pet store... I made my choice and carried home a Stagmomantis carolina.

08.19.14: Acquired two wild caught Carolina mantids, both males.



08.20.14: Decided to send the younger nymph to forum member: Mantidbro.



-Kaz.

08.25.14: Apollo molts to subadult.



09.08.14: Apollo molts to adulthood.



Two days had passed since Apollo had hit adulthood, and I was still able to go out and spot these natives. I took the opportunity I had and went out to find him a suitable mate. And I did just that...

09.17.14: Flora showing definite signs of wanting to mate, introduced Apollo. Mating started: 10:27pm / ending: 4:23am



Apollo was an incredible breeding male, he didn't waste time... He'd get in, do the job, and get out of eyesight as quickly as you could blink (literally...) And was an ace pilot when airborne. He mated 2 different females 3 different times and from what I hear, even has offspring out and about! ^_^

11.08.14: Flora passed but provided 6 ooths.



11.22.14: Apollo passed.



Originally, the Carolina's were a test run... More or less to see how breeding would go and what I could expect when it came time to mate my baby girl Echo.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've gotten a few demands from fellow forum members to consider creating my own "collection thread". After a few weeks of pondering the idea and seeing the couple that's already been posted, I've decided to go ahead and release my own. Not all photos are great, a lot of them were taken from my cellphone when I first started this hobby and at the time didn't have access to anything else. I hope you all enjoy...

My first mantis was a lucky find (for the mantis...) by my girlfriend. We had just arrived home and was about to enter our home when suddenly my girlfriend stopped me from taking another step inside the threshold. She then leaned over and scooped up this very tiny little green speck.... After further investigation this speck appeared to be a sort of praying mantis, I hadn't seen one of these since I was a young child! Since she had saved the mantis from being the next addition to my shoe... We took it in and housed it within a wide mouth mason jar with dirt substrate,blades of grass I had cut finely, and a few sticks and twigs. I soon found my way to the forum, joined the community, and made my mandatory introduction... After asking around the forum I soon found out the exact species I had in my care, a Tenodera sinensis.

Any member that's been here for the passed 8 months or longer may already know this story... But for those of you that don't, Echo was indeed that special mantis. The one that stands out from the rest and you can't help but get too attached to, something truly special. She was my first "Pet" mantis and the mantis that started the hobby for me.

06.03.14: Found/Rescued.

During the first month of owning Echo, I had found numorus other Tenodera and even held onto 2 others I won't include. One was a small nymph named: Loki, that I released a few days after keeping and another L3/4 with a completely missing rear leg that I properly named: TriPod... I did keep TriPod, but unfortunately She was lost at subadult. Though she did regenerate the rear leg and get sometime to enjoy it before her passing...

08.03.14: Echo reaches subadult.

08.21.14: Echo reaches adulthood.

09.25.14: Submitted Echo's photo into the "2015 Forum Members Calendar."

My good friend and fellow forum member: Mantidbro was kind enough to send me his finest breeding male so I could at least try to breed my first mantis.

09.27.14: Mated.

Echo was one of a kind, and she opened up a beautiful hobby to me I would've never thought myself apart of. She lived a great mantis life and I did everything I could to ensure it with her massive homes, wide variety diet, and plenty of roaming time...

And for all my efforts, she left me 6 fat ooths and one final photo shoot...

12.16.14: Passed.
Aw man you really do have great writing skills! This did pull at my heart strings. Amazing work. I'm onto the next thread!

 
After owning Echo and the few other (wild) Tenodera, I decided to go ahead and try my luck with an exotic mantis. At the time I didn't have much experience and wanted to go with something within the so called " beginner's class "... So I scouted the forum's classifieds section and committed to my first purchase through a breeder and fellow forum member: Mantidbro. ( at this point in time, I didn't know Mantidbro... But after the purchase we became great friends...) Through him I acquired my very first exotics, Parasphendale agrionina.

07.10.14: Two African budwing mantids acquired.

09.03.14: Tiberius molts to subadult.

09.09.14: Chronos molts to subadult.

09.27.14: Tiberius molts to adulthood.

10.07.14: Chronos molts to adulthood.

12.22.14: Both Chronos and Tiberius passed.

I unfortunately wasn't able to get either of my boys a mate, so they passed away lonely like... :(
Poor fellas! They were still awesome though!

 
Within the final few months of summer I managed to stumble upon a nice location where my next species was found. I went to this certain location for a few weeks and each visit I'd come across handfuls at a time! It was a whole new experience with mantids for me. So, after I played with many like a child in a pet store... I made my choice and carried home a Stagmomantis carolina.

08.19.14: Acquired two wild caught Carolina mantids, both males.

08.20.14: Decided to send the younger nymph to forum member: Mantidbro.

-Kaz.

08.25.14: Apollo molts to subadult.

09.08.14: Apollo molts to adulthood.

Two days had passed since Apollo had hit adulthood, and I was still able to go out and spot these natives. I took the opportunity I had and went out to find him a suitable mate. And I did just that...

09.17.14: Flora showing definite signs of wanting to mate, introduced Apollo. Mating started: 10:27pm / ending: 4:23am

Apollo was an incredible breeding male, he didn't waste time... He'd get in, do the job, and get out of eyesight as quickly as you could blink (literally...) And was an ace pilot when airborne. He mated 2 different females 3 different times and from what I hear, even has offspring out and about! ^_^

11.08.14: Flora passed but provided 6 ooths.

11.22.14: Apollo passed.

Originally, the Carolina's were a test run... More or less to see how breeding would go and what I could expect when it came time to mate my baby girl Echo.
You even introduced Kaz! Awesome. I haven't gotten to him yet on my thread! This is great bud, keep up the good work!

 
Since I had been apart of the community for awhile now, I went ahead and donated to support the forum's yearly costs. Not really so much for the free mantis program at that time, but because I spend alot of my free time here and am not apart of other sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Forum member: Hibiscusmile sent my next 2 exotics, Phyllocrania paradoxa.

11.15.14: Acquired two ghost mantids.





01.04.15: Nymbit molts to Subadult.



01.11.15: Cyprus molts to Subadult.



01.20.15: Cyprus shipped to forum member: Dmina

- Trades for a female, AND arrived with company! :)



03.01.15: Nymbit molt to adulthood.



03.23.15: Mated.



"Look mom! No hands!!..." ^_^

It took my poor Nymbit three different attempts before he finally breached his lady friend, finally he managed!

03.25.15: Female passed. Never laid a single fertile ooth...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Since I had been apart of the community for awhile now, I went ahead and donated to support the forum's yearly costs. Not really so much for the free mantis program at that time, but because I spend alot of my free time here and am not apart of other sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Forum member: Hibiscusmile sent my next 2 exotics, Phyllocrania paradoxa.

11.15.14: Acquired two ghost mantids.

01.04.15: Nymbit molts to Subadult.

01.11.15: Cyprus molts to Subadult.

01.20.15: Cyprus shipped to forum member: Dmina

- Trades for a female, AND arrived with company! :)

03.01.15: Nymbit molt to adulthood.

03.23.15: Mated.

It took my poor Nymbit three different attempts before he finally breached his lady friend, finally he managed!

03.25.15: Female passed. Never laid a single fertile ooth...
Amazing photos! It really sucks that the female died before laying. Sorry bro... But at least you've still got Nymbit, he's wicked cool!

 
I had received my next mantis as a birthday gift from my buddy Mantidbro. He ended up making a trade with our forum master (Peter Clausen.) whom in turn sent me my first Sphodromantis viridis.

11.20.14: Giant African mantis acquired.



03/02/15 - Molts to subadult.



From the day I received Fritz , I could tell this was one of the most vicious mantids I've yet to own. His attitude towards prey definitely outweighs his size.

04.18.15: Fritz molts to adulthood.



Here's Fritz after molting. :)

As you can see in the photo he had some sort of boo-boo with his antennae during/after molt.. Unsure of the reasons as I was at work at the time, but I think it gives him a unique look. :p

 
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I had received my next mantis as a birthday gift from my buddy Mantidbro. He ended up making a trade with our forum master (Peter Clausen.) whom in turn sent me my first Sphodromantis viridis.

11.20.14: Giant African mantis acquired.

03/02/15 - Molts to subadult.

From the day I received Fritz , I could tell this was one of the most vicious mantids I've yet to own. His attitude towards prey definitely outweighs his size.

00.00.00: Awaiting final molt.
Amazing, that photo!! I cant get enough of it haha! lookin forward to seeing his adult form!!

 
...And I guess this is where I had originally caught " the fever..." ;)

I had bought my next off forum member: Aryia as a personal birthday gift, I bought myself a female Hierodula xishaensis I named Delta.

The package ended up being late and the L2 friend Aryia included for free passed, but Delta luckily made her long cold journey. She was L3 at the time I had bought her and honestly I had got her because I had a gut feeling Echo's chapter was drawing to a close...

11.24.14: Giant Asian mantis bought.



In between this time period, all of my original crew had passed away...

Rip: Echo,Chronos & Tiberius, Apollo, and Flora.

01.05.15: Delta molts to subadult.



01.24.15: Delta molts to adulthood.



Forum member: Dwalls247 was kind enough to send me his male to mate my new babygirl...



Sadly though, he passed away 2 days after he had arrived and settled in his new home, just one day before the planned "Date Night."

Really I would have loved to have mated and shared her offspring through our community, sadly I haven't seen anyone with another male in awhile...

04.16.15: Delta's health seems to be taking a turn for the worst..

04.18.15: Delta still remains, I've ruled out sickness and now am leaning more towards old age as the cause of her current state. Climbing has become quite a challenge... Ive moved her out of her huge home and into a smaller tank.

04.22.15: Delta passes.

 
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Im sorry Delta's date died too soon. I love the Xishaensis! They are a great mantis. I have a male to go with my girl Candy. I hope I can breed them and get some nymphs.

 
Im sorry Delta's date died too soon. I love the Xishaensis! They are a great mantis. I have a male to go with my girl Candy. I hope I can breed them and get some nymphs.
Delta's currently still with me, but she's getting weak and really slow. She's eating and drinking still. But I'm unsure of the time she's got left. :/If you do manage to breed yours, id love to get a few of your offspring. I wanted to keep this species going myself but that obviously not a possibility now.

 
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...And I guess this is where I had originally caught " the fever..." ;)

I had bought my next off forum member: Aryia as a personal birthday gift, I bought myself a female Hierodula xishaensis I named Delta.

The package ended up being late and the L2 friend Aryia included for free passed, but Delta luckily made her long cold journey. She was L3 at the time I had bought her and honestly I had got her because I had a gut feeling Echo's chapter was drawing to a close...

11.24.14: Giant Asian mantis bought.



In between this time period, all of my original crew had passed away...

Rip: Echo,Chronos & Tiberius, Apollo, and Flora.

01.05.15: Delta molts to subadult.



01.24.15: Delta molts to adulthood.



Forum member: Dwalls247 was kind enough to send me his male to mate my new babygirl...



Sadly though, he passed away 2 days after he had arrived and settled in his new home, just one day before the planned "Date Night."

Really I would have loved to have mated and shared her offspring through our community, sadly I haven't seen anyone with another male in awhile...

04.16.15: Delta's health seems to be taking a turn for the worst..

04.18.15: Delta still remains, I've ruled out sickness and now am leaning more towards old age as the cause of her current state. Climbing has become quite a challenge... Ive moved her out of her huge home and into a smaller tank.
Shes so beautiful. Im still feeling sorry that the male died, that really sucks. I agree that its most likely old age. Poor Delta. Im just glad shes not puking or feeling sick and is just slowing down. Its better than dying a painful death. But death either way sucks... Great photos

 
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