# Whats the average length of a chinese mantis?



## manzano167 (Jun 23, 2010)

Thats it


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 23, 2010)

Hummm, I think about ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- that long! the end!






3 to 4"


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## manzano167 (Jun 23, 2010)

Thanks lol


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## davestreasurechest (Jun 23, 2010)

L1 ------

L2 ---------

L3 ------------

L4 ----------------

L5 ----------------------

L6 --------------------------------

L7 ----------------------------------------------

ADULT (WHAT REBECCA SAID) TE HEE!


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## manzano167 (Jun 23, 2010)

Thanks jack in thebox!

I asked this question because i am going to buy one in a couple weeks and so far am clear!


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## manzano167 (Jun 23, 2010)

Also how many times do they molt in a month?


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## davestreasurechest (Jun 24, 2010)

well fed every 10 to 20 days id est


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## PhilinYuma (Jun 24, 2010)

This is your big chance John3! When your mantids hatch, measure them and repeat after every molt and also record the date when each one molts (You'll have to give your nymphs names like Chinese !, Chinese 2, etc). If you want to be really scientific, find the scientific name of the Chinese mantis and report the lengths in millimeters. Then post your findings on a thread, and we'll all be proud of you! Good luck!


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## Rick (Jun 24, 2010)

Wow! Only hit that button once Phil! I've seen plenty of double posts, a few triples, but never nine.


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 24, 2010)

someone must of deleted some of them, I had 30 emails from this post



I not happy camper


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## Orin (Jun 24, 2010)

My estimate based on specimens found in the eastern USA (including males) is 3.6" average length for an adult Chinese mantis.



Rick said:


> Wow! Only hit that button once Phil! I've seen plenty of double posts, a few triples, but never nine.


I deleted the extra 8 but it wasn't easy.


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## LauraMG (Jun 24, 2010)

Mine has grown from a matter of 1/4" when it hatched on April 6th to about 2" today. He has molted exactly as has been said about 10-14 days apart, and he's about to molt right now. They are one of the more interesting species to me because they have been known to eat very strange things once they're freakishly huge.


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## yen_saw (Jun 24, 2010)

From the specimen collected in Missouri last year most of them are about 4 inches from head to tip of wing. Male is about the same length but slender. I have heard some say 7 inches but haven't seen one personally.


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## Rick (Jun 24, 2010)

This is the longest one I think I have ever found. They are not nearly as long as some people think:


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## yen_saw (Jun 24, 2010)

Rick said:


> This is the longest one I think I have ever found. They are not nearly as long as some people think:


That's true, many have claimed to see a giant 6 or 7 inches chinese mantis, it is on the internet everywhere, but i haven't seen one next to ruler. Probably they include the antenna. In scientific report, the body length of a mantis is actually from the tip of the head to end of the abdomen.Edit: Orin's 3.6" body length fits the scientific mesurement.


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 24, 2010)

I havent seen one that big either, but if I do, you guys will be the first to see it


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## PhilinYuma (Jun 24, 2010)

Aw, I didn't get to see the nine posts!



I think I know what happened, though. I decided to weigh and measure one of my adult Chinese females, and left it unattended next to my keyboard for a few minutes. It turned out to be 73/4" long and weighed a pound and a half, so it seems quite possible that after I posted, it tapped a foot on the Enter key, causing the extra posts. I'll keep it away from the computer in future.


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 24, 2010)

Good idea Phil, I would also wear a helmet around it!


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## lancaster1313 (Jun 24, 2010)

This is interesting to know, there must be rumors going around about size, I was expecting anywhere beetween 4 and 6 inches for my chinese mantids that I hatched out of ooths that I purchased. I have been measuring all of my mantids from head(eyes without antennae) to tip of abdomen. I was expecting some long mantids :blink: . I guess I will find the truth some time. I found my first L4 this afternoon and I was expecting more, on account of what I had read previously about _Tenodera sinensis_. I think that perhaps some people measure other parts of anatomy when estimating length of the mantid.


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## Rick (Jun 25, 2010)

likebugs said:


> This is interesting to know, there must be rumors going around about size, I was expecting anywhere beetween 4 and 6 inches for my chinese mantids that I hatched out of ooths that I purchased. I have been measuring all of my mantids from head(eyes without antennae) to tip of abdomen. I was expecting some long mantids :blink: . I guess I will find the truth some time. I found my first L4 this afternoon and I was expecting more, on account of what I had read previously about _Tenodera sinensis_. I think that perhaps some people measure other parts of anatomy when estimating length of the mantid.


Well I think that most people see them but are not carrying a ruler around. THey are very large insects and when a person recalls what they saw they assume it was much larger than it was. Kinda like fish.


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## lancaster1313 (Jun 25, 2010)

Tall tales and fish stories, that could explain it. :lol:


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## LauraMG (Jun 25, 2010)

So Rick, are you saying I never really caught that 12 foot catfish?


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## Rick (Jun 25, 2010)

Laura G said:


> So Rick, are you saying I never really caught that 12 foot catfish?


Yep.


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## LauraMG (Jun 25, 2010)

Oh no! My cover is blown! Gotta go....


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## PhilinYuma (Jun 26, 2010)

Laura G said:


> So Rick, are you saying I never really caught that 12 foot catfish?


Scientifically, there is no such thing as a "12 foot catfish". Had you looked closely, you would have seen that the six front "feet" are actually hands.


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## LauraMG (Jun 26, 2010)

Ha!


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## manzano167 (Jun 26, 2010)

Thanks for your answers guys! and that Catfish mystery lol


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 26, 2010)

I see it is time for a test, be right back


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 26, 2010)

ok, here is an American chinese mantis female molted for one week.






As one can see, she is just 4"

now, one from Africa,






She also is just 4", this one just molted yesterday, I did think that this one would be bigger, but they were not, I thought that, because just before the final molt, they are a lot bigger than the American breed chinese.


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## manzano167 (Jun 26, 2010)

Awesome BTW was it her last molt?


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## JoeCapricorn (Jun 26, 2010)

Emerald, my first pet mantis was also the largest from last year at 4 1/2 inches. I have seen 5 inchers but no sixers or seveners. I doubt the latter two are even possible, and 5 inches is gigantic for this species.

Are there mantis species that reach six inches or more?


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 26, 2010)

A mantis with their wings is last molt.


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## Rick (Jun 27, 2010)

Funny, I was correcting some people on another site. A mantis topic popped up. Guy took a pic of a carolina mantis nymph. One person said it was walking stick after I told them what it was. Several people posted about how they find huge, 7 inch mantids every year. When I said they only reach a max of about 4 inches, a few people said they know they were much larger.


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 27, 2010)

Nothing like carrying a ruler with ya!



but then one has to know how to read them


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## lancaster1313 (Jun 27, 2010)

hibiscusmile said:


> Nothing like carrying a ruler with ya!
> 
> 
> 
> but then one has to know how to read them


 :lol: I have worked in construction and found out that some people just can't measure.


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## manzano167 (Jun 28, 2010)

lol!


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## Chief Tom (Jun 29, 2010)

Yep, that's what I said too- 4 to 4 1/2 inches.


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