# Limbata Gender Check



## a1_collection (Aug 17, 2009)

My black light in the yard attract this fella. I am assuming it is a "he" based on his shape and behavior ie flight.

I am attempting to pair the male up with this also assumed female Limbata.

Could anyone please confirm the genders of these two mantids and the species?If what I am assuming is correct the female is not yet mature and the male is. Does anyone know what to do if one matures before the others? I am currently keeping them in separate containers in the yard out of the sun so they won't be so stressed out.

Thanks


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## Katnapper (Aug 17, 2009)

The mantis in the first pic (with the green background) is a female, and by the wing buds appears will molt to adult fairly soon. You should wait a couple of weeks after she does molt to adult to mature before trying to mate her with the male.

The mantis in the second pic (on the tree) does appear to be an adult male by size and shape; but it's not a certain guess, as we cannot see the segments viewed from the underside of it.

Edit: I have no guess with respect to them being _limbatas_, as the few I had at one point were younger nymphs and all died before adulthood.


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## a1_collection (Aug 17, 2009)

I'll get a picture of the underbelly soon tomorrow. As for now...sleepy time.

...yawn...


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## Rick (Aug 17, 2009)

The one on the left is a subadult female who has awhile to go before molting. The one on the right is an adult male. I am 100% positive on the gender of both.


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## a1_collection (Aug 17, 2009)

Thank you both.

Are you sure that the species is Limbata though.


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## Rick (Aug 17, 2009)

a1_collection said:


> Thank you both.Are you sure that the species is Limbata though.


Appears to be though I have only kept them once.


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## Katnapper (Aug 17, 2009)

a1_collection said:


> Thank you both.Are you sure that the species is Limbata though.


You're welcome.

From my limited experience with them, I really cannot confirm and do not know if they are _S. limbata _or not.


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## kamakiri (Aug 17, 2009)

Rick is right, and they both appear to be limbata to me. I think the female is at least a week away from molting, probably more, if I am looking at a subadult. If she is subadult, her hind wing buds will turn yellow prior to molting.


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## AmandaLynn (Aug 17, 2009)

Rick said:


> The one on the left is a subadult female who has awhile to go before molting. The one on the right is an adult male. I am 100% positive on the gender of both.


Just out of curiosity, how can you tell that the one on the right is a male?


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## PhilinYuma (Aug 17, 2009)

AmandaLynn said:


> Just out of curiosity, how can you tell that the one on the right is a male?


He is more slender than an adult female and his wings extend beyond the tip of his abdomen.


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## kamakiri (Aug 17, 2009)

AmandaLynn said:


> Just out of curiosity, how can you tell that the one on the right is a male?


After raising a couple of batches to adulthood and taking hundreds of pictures of them...it gets pretty easy. Basically, it looks like any of the other limbata males that I've had and some of the other pictures from other members. More specifically, it is the proportions of his arms to thorax to wings...much in the way you can *usually* tell an adult human male from female even when looking from behind...


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## a1_collection (Aug 17, 2009)

Thank you all for providing so much helpful information.

Both of these were caught in my yard. I have them separated until the female becomes and adult than we will talk about breeding them later.


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## PhilinYuma (Aug 17, 2009)

Reviewing your thread, I noticed that no one had answered your question about what to do when a male and female reach adulthood at different times. It is quite possible that yr pair are brother and sister. The males usually mature first, and in nature, this means that they are likely to fly off and mate with an older female from a different ooth. You will need to wait until about 3 weeks after your female's final molt before you can breed them, but your male should still be able to breed.


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## a1_collection (Aug 18, 2009)

The odds that they are siblings are higher than you think. The female was one that I released after I hatched them and I could remember releasing a bunch more in the relative area.

My concern is if the female won't mature quickly the male will die.


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## PhilinYuma (Aug 18, 2009)

a1_collection said:


> The odds that they are siblings are higher than you think. The female was one that I released after I hatched them and I could remember releasing a bunch more in the relative area.My concern is if the female won't mature quickly the male will die.


Probably he won't, but if he does, you'll join that long list of hopefulls on For Sale/Wanted, saying "Does anyone have a male S. limbata for sale or stud?"


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## Rick (Aug 18, 2009)

AmandaLynn said:


> Just out of curiosity, how can you tell that the one on the right is a male?


Once you have experience you can tell at a glance especially on adults. There is no need to count segments or anything on adults. He is very small and petite and has full length wings. With the stagmomantis species the females have short wings while the males have long wings.

Here is a pic of the underside of two adult stagmomantis species. See what I mean? With these the differences are obvious.


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## a1_collection (Aug 18, 2009)

The male does not seem to be eating. I put in flies and even a cricket but nothing. It looks like his only mind set is to mate.


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## kamakiri (Aug 18, 2009)

a1_collection said:


> The male does not seem to be eating. I put in flies and even a cricket but nothing. It looks like his only mind set is to mate.


That's perfectly normal. Males don't need to eat much to sustain themselves. I think I generally feed them less than every third day.


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## a1_collection (Aug 21, 2009)

Well it was just as I feared. My male died before the female could mature so I have released the female back to her special place in the yard. No use killing the female too in captivity.  

Going to need another stud. If I can't get any males with my light traps in the yard I'll need to buy one.


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