# black and orange on abdonmen please help!



## pacman07807 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hey all, I noticed this on my female asian mantis just now as ive just got in from work, its wasnt there yesterday???





any help would be great, thanks

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## LLCoolJew (Sep 20, 2011)

Eek! I hope she's OK!


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## Termite48 (Sep 20, 2011)

Could it be a fungus or a mold. You might try some vinegar on a cotton swab and dab the affected part. I will not hurt the mantid.


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## agent A (Sep 20, 2011)

i think this is normal in Hierodula sp.

i saw this in mine when i had them

this picture is from yen saw's website

you can see the coloration between the segments of the male's abdomen:

;







here is a link from UK mantis forums

http://www.ukmantisforums.co.uk/151-post2.html


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## lancaster1313 (Sep 20, 2011)

Looks normal to me as well. You will notice it more if they are full, and sometimes it seems as if they display it on purpose.


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## hibiscusmile (Sep 20, 2011)

Is ok, maybe cut back on food amount.


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## ShieldMantid1997 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yeah its fine, i notice the same thing in my female Chinese, except it's purple.


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## PhilinYuma (Sep 20, 2011)

Well, despite what the others say, I think that it's perfectly normal!


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## pacman07807 (Sep 21, 2011)

Hi all unfortunately she died in the night, the colours had spread around her whole abdomen and looked to b getting alot worse, she had trouble pooing after her last meal, then when she molted last the last piece of old skin at the bottom of the abdomen wouldn't come off. I will post some pics later as I'm at work now


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## Rick (Sep 21, 2011)

pacman said:


> Hi all unfortunately she died in the night, the colours had spread around her whole abdomen and looked to b getting alot worse, she had trouble pooing after her last meal, then when she molted last the last piece of old skin at the bottom of the abdomen wouldn't come off. I will post some pics later as I'm at work now


The color had nothing to do with it. That species has coloring there. The more plump the abdomen is the more it can be seen.


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## PhilinYuma (Sep 21, 2011)

Yes, but I'd guess that you are wondering why the "natural" color only appeared when the mantis was dying. Here's why. The mantid's abdomen is covered in a tough, rubbery, expandable membrane called the arthrodial membrane. It is this expandability that allows an adult female's belly to swell. In your mantis, this membrane is red. Laid on top of this membrane are two sets of tough, chitinous plates, top and bottom, the dorsal (back) and ventral (tummy) sclerites, each pair forming what we call a segment, though in adult mantids, some of the posterior ventral plates are fused, which is why you have to count the "segments" underneath when sexing. As the abdomen's girth increases, more and more of the arthrodial membrane becomes visible, hence the increasing redness as your mantit's abdomen swelled. Hope that helps!


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## pacman07807 (Sep 21, 2011)

Hi all, this is how she looked this morning, she was definitely not over feed





Does anyone think it could be a infection pasted on from feeder food namely locust? reason i ask is the last couple in my last batch didnt look to great i.e black mouth. But i have never had a problem like this before?

This is her after her last molt, a couple of days after the locust





As you can see the last piece would not come off, I intervened in the end and removed it for her. She lived for approximately one week after the molt in which she would not take any food, even blue bottles and thats saying something.


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## agent A (Sep 21, 2011)

how long was she dead before the black set in? my theory is that is was constipation

i've seen similar things in Creobroter gemmatus

about the locusts and the black mouth, did the locusts spit out black juice when grabbed or threatened? if so, this is normal

very sorry to hear about the mantis


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## pacman07807 (Sep 21, 2011)

The black was coming on a bit before the mantis died. She was so active and healthy before she eat the last locust. I agree with you and believe it caused constipation or some kind of abdominal infection.


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## hibiscusmile (Sep 21, 2011)

Gee, so hard to tell, even when it is our own, we really can only guess.


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## PhilinYuma (Sep 21, 2011)

Insects can't get constipation because they don't have stools. Their waste is filtered and concentrated by malpighian tubules that a much like our kdneys' renal tubules. Most of the wastre is secreted as uric acid crystals. Try this:

http://www.ehow.com/video_4993045_insects-eliminate-waste.html


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## LLCoolJew (Sep 22, 2011)

Sorry for your loss


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## pacman07807 (Sep 22, 2011)

Thanks


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