# Hunter and Diego



## Mantis Lady (May 31, 2018)

2 Sphodromantis gastrica L6 couple arrived just now at home. They are both very cute. The male looks whitish with green under adomen. The female looks a bit like little Hunter, but light brown. I will  feed them and put them in their new homes. And will take some pics to show you the new members of my mantis family. I am happy with them.?


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## Mantis Lady (May 31, 2018)

After feeding time and putting them in their new homes it was picture taking time  

Time to show them: Hunter (named after little hunter)








Diego:


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## Synapze (May 31, 2018)

They're beautiful! Congrats... I'm jealous!


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## MantisGirl13 (May 31, 2018)

They really are pretty! Especially little Hunter. I love her eyes! Diego is very cute. 

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 1, 2018)

I didn't know what color they would have when I bought them. But I like their colors. But they looks very different than Flash. she is green.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 2, 2018)

Well, you sure got some pretty colors! 

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 2, 2018)

Diego was hungry:




The next pic is funny. On this one it looks like he has "Kermit the frog" eyes


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 2, 2018)

@Little Mantis That is adorable! He is so cute! I love that pale green coloring on him. It almost looks white!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 3, 2018)

He indeed looks more white. I dont know if he will stay like that. Somehow he has a funny face. But he actively goes after his prey like this afternoon. The cricket jumped down in his cup and Diego jumped down to catch it. Too bad I dont have a video of that.

Hunter can look very cute like here:


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 4, 2018)

Aww! That is adorable! It is so fun to watch them hunt, I agree.   

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 5, 2018)

Oh yeah, The Sphodromantis gastricas are more active hunters than Cochise  

Hunter molted yesterday evening late and she had a good molt.  and today she attacked her cricket if she had never eaten before. She fell of the lid and had to eat her dinner hanging outside her cup.

Diego wasn't interested in something to eat. Think he is preparing for his molt. But he is still fast


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 5, 2018)

Yay, Hunter! She is so pretty!   It is so funny how some species are so aggressive after molts, while others won't touch prey for days!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 9, 2018)

Diego molted last night. Bute the evening before his molt he ate. He hunted the cricket himself.  This is really surprising me. Maybe he needed some energy for his molt. I dont don't know.

For now I will leave him alone for his skin to harden. and will have a good look at him later this evening.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 9, 2018)

My Sphodromantis gastricas will eat even the day of the molt! They are seriously aggressive hunters!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 9, 2018)

They both surprised me whit their molts. If it doesn't give problems and they have good molts. I am OK with it.?


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 9, 2018)

Little Mantis said:


> Diego molted last night. Bute the evening before his molt he ate. He hunted the cricket himself.  This is really surprising me. Maybe he needed some energy for his molt. I dont don't know.


Not all mantises stop eating before molting, I've had some hunt prey just hours before they molted.


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 9, 2018)

I have read all mantids did that, but this species not it seems  



Predatorhousepet said:


> Not all mantises stop eating before molting, I've had some hunt prey just hours before they molted.


I still keep learning new things about our favo insects.?


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 9, 2018)

Certain species may have a tendency to stop or not stop eating for a molt but it's not a hardfast rule. It's not so much a particular species that does or doesn't but individual mantises...and not every time. So one mantis might stop eating for one molt but keep hunting right up until the next one. Another mantis of that same species may always stop eating to prepare for their molt while some other mantis never does. As for why...I don't know. It could be as you suggested, that they need a boost of energy right before a molt or maybe the mantis just didn't get the signal it was going to molt until it did.


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 9, 2018)

Cochise was acting meh when she was close to molt and didn't wanted to eat. Then I knew to let her be. But with Hunter and Diego I will never know


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 9, 2018)

Yeah, I guess that it just depends on the personality of the mantis! I have a violin who will eat a moth that is almost bigger than her! And this species was supposed to be communal! She ate her sister within an hour of them being in the same cage! 

- MantisGirl13


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## lovemymantisfriends (Jun 12, 2018)

How long do they need for their skin to dry?


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 12, 2018)

I think a day. I wait with feeding till next day.


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## Predatorhousepet (Jun 12, 2018)

Yes, 24 hours is sufficient enough time for mantids to dry out. I wait at least that long before trying to feed them but some wait 2 days. Sometimes a mantis is immediately hungry after a molt sometimes it takes a few days before they start eating again.


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 14, 2018)

Hunter and her shadow being cute


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 14, 2018)

Very cute. I love those eyes!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 14, 2018)

I hope she keep those eyes when she is an adult.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 15, 2018)

Me too! They are such a pretty almost purple color!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 29, 2018)

Mantids are not always smart with looking for a place to molt. Hunter was hanging too low on her fake plant in her cup. I had to take her fake plant out to  prevent her head came on the ground. I let her molt while holding the fake  plant after that I taped the fake plant higher in her cup so she can dry there.. Good I saw this happeningbefore she molted.











here 1 picje of freshley molted diego: 1 weird thing I see on him. He has a black spot in his right eye.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 30, 2018)

Silly Hunter! Diego is so handsome!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jun 30, 2018)

Hunter could have ended in a mismolt, but good I saw it in time. She still hangs low on her plant but that is ok now. But she lost most of her brown color sadly enough. I think she is ready to move to a bigger home now


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## MantisGirl13 (Jul 1, 2018)

Can you post a pic of her now? I am glad that you noticed her in time! Good job!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 1, 2018)

I will give Hunter some time out of cup time and will take some pics. She is loosing her brown color. With every molt she looks more blank/whitish like Diego.


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 2, 2018)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Can you post a pic of her now? I am glad that you noticed her in time! Good job!
> 
> - MantisGirl13


Here are the pics you asked for:






She loves her plant. She didn't want to leave it yet


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 15, 2018)

Time for a pic of Diego: here is he was enjoying his half roach:






He still have a little black spot in his right eye. But he is recognizeble now without looking at his abdomen.  The older Hunter and Diego get the more they look like twins.


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 17, 2018)

Since a couple of days Diegos wing buds turned green. Will he be getting a green wing cover? The color still fits with the rest of his body color  It would be nice if is wing cover could be that color green. Hunters wing buds are stll the color of her body.


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 17, 2018)

Little Diego molted to adulthood. I will see what his color  of his wing cover will be when he done with inflating his wings...


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 18, 2018)

His wing color is very light soft green. He has only a green drop on it. Hunters wingbuds turned green too. Her turn to molt is coming too.Think her wing color will be the same as diegos


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 18, 2018)

The bubble dried out. it is  dark green spot now. I see that the spot in his eye is gone too now.


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## River Dane (Jul 18, 2018)

Congratulations on the adult molt! Diego’s new wings are beautiful, he’s a nice looking little guy! Good luck with Hunter’s molt!


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 18, 2018)

Thank you. I expect her to follow soon : her wing buds turned green too. A few  deli cups are getting empty soon.


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 21, 2018)

This morning Hunter molted to adulthood.

She did it again: hanging on a too low spot to molt. I woke up to go to the wc and I walked to my desk. I always look in the mantids homes to see how they were doing. I din't see hunter hanging on the lid where she was preparing for her molt. Then i saw her hanging on a fake plant on the worst place you can imagine to molt and she was already starting. (saw the skin loosing up at her abdomen)

I had to do something. If I would leave her there, she would be having a terrible mismolt. She had just 5 cm space to molt, I think. way not enough molting space. I took her out at the legs and her feet grabbed my hand. I was watching her molt, hanging on my hand. I even got cramps in my arm but I gave her time to do the molting and the dry up. That went fine.







then I grabbed a fake plant out of cage because she needed to inflate her wings. I let her grab the fake plant to finsh crawling out of her old skin. It was if she understoot why the plant was standing here. She grabbed it and soon after it she was free of the skin. She positioned herself for the last part of her molt and inflated her wings.






My part was done. Happy to save this mantis life (again) what could have been going terrible wrong. She is healthy and have beautiful wings. Her wings are the same color of Diegos, but with no dark spots on it.


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## Synapze (Jul 21, 2018)

Good job @Little Mantis


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## MantisGirl13 (Jul 21, 2018)

Yes! Good job!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 22, 2018)

Here some pics of freshly molted Hunter:


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 23, 2018)

I am thinking to try to breed Diego and Hunter after my vacation. Then they are both ready when I am coming back. Flash still need to molt too, but won't belong either. I hope not that any of the females get what Cochise is having.  It would be cool to see what nymphs are coming of Diego and Flash?


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 25, 2018)

Here some pics of grumpy Hunter. She gave me a threat pose when I took her out, for her out of home time. She gave me a few cool pics while being in threat pose.  






I got a nice view on her wings too:


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## MantisGirl13 (Jul 29, 2018)

What is that spot on her eye?

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 29, 2018)

Don't know. She got that after her last molt. She has to live with it. Don't know how good she can see with that eye. But better one bad eye than a bad mismolt.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jul 30, 2018)

Agreed. I hope it is not an infection or a bother to her.

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Jul 30, 2018)

I hope not. I have already enough bad stuff happening with my mantids, but in her eye no changes, so that is good.


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