# Aluine - Sphodromantis lineola



## Mëluzynn (Nov 15, 2012)

Hi  

Some pictures of Aluine, my _Sphodromantis lineola_. Sadly my D90 is broken, I use for now a Panasonic Lumix and I can't manage the intensity of the flash neither a good focus.

I'll try a shooting with a friend's D80 in a few days...

For now there are the first pictures of my sweet lady, she's home now for 5 days  The quality is bad, but it's memories for later ^^



























And some pictures of critters... I'm absolutely terrified to death by critters... Some of you will laugh, I laugh at myself, but I can't control it, it's juste like a phobia...lol

So I shoot them, they look quite cute on the pictures ^^











I hope to add better shots in the future


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## agent A (Nov 15, 2012)

Pretty subadult


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 15, 2012)

agent A said:


> Pretty subadult


Thanks for her  

I have absolutely no idea wich stade she is... I think the breeder told me L3 but he maybe spoke about an other mantis, it was so crowdy at the reptile show that I can have misunderstood. And his wife spoke about a subsub, so I really don't know...

I'm quite sure she's a girl, but no idea of the technical part sadly


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## D_Hemptress (Nov 15, 2012)

not gonna lie, the critters freak my out too. and i catch all my crickets by hand. my heart races the whole time


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 15, 2012)

D_Hemptress said:


> not gonna lie, the critters freak my out too. and i catch all my crickets by hand. my heart races the whole time


No critters or crickets ni the nature here for now, it's winter (I live in a very cold place). Aluine's breeder gave me some whe I bought her, for the future I'll buy them in a reptile shop, I know the boss since a few years, he told me he made some prices because I don't need a lot of bugs, I'll go to buy 10 critters each 2 weeks I think...lol

They frighten me but I like the sound they make, it's like I live in Provence  I should try to add Lavender for the smell and it will look like holiday in south of France...XD


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## D_Hemptress (Nov 15, 2012)

i live in california, so it doesnt get too cold for them to come out. some of mine get really loud so ive decided to keep them outside now. also a few escaped in the house and although my kitties love to catch them, i dont like them.

lavender smells wonderful that should help with the smell for sure.


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## ismart (Nov 15, 2012)

Nice pics.


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## aNisip (Nov 15, 2012)

She is indeed a female!  Six segments that make up the abdomen tells you its a girl, males have 8 segments  ....is that what you meant by technical parts?


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 16, 2012)

AndrewNisip said:


> She is indeed a female!  Six segments that make up the abdomen tells you its a girl, males have 8 segments  ....is that what you meant by technical parts?


Ok, on a french forum they told me 5 for females and 6 for males, it's why I register here...XD

By technical part I meant the grades between molting. I don't know the vocabulary in english for that, I hardly know it in french. When a mantis is born she is L1, after the first molt she is L2, ... And after a few molting she is a subsubadult then a subadult so still a nymph, then (I don't know when) she is an adult something after L8.

I don't have explanations about that, so it's totally mixed in my head :/

One picture I took today, and a zoom of the same pic  











And a small movie made with the iPhone :


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## Digger (Nov 17, 2012)

You captured her colors nicely!


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## RevWillie (Nov 17, 2012)

Very pretty mantis, well photographed!

I know the crickets are not your favorite thing, but if you can feed the crickets good food (fruits, vegetables) for a couple of days before feeding them to your mantis, they are better food for your mantis.


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## fleurdejoo (Nov 18, 2012)

I will let all kinds of of large insects crawl on me but... If a cricket so much as looks at me cross eyed, I will scream and run like a little bee-yotch


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## ShieldMantid1997 (Nov 19, 2012)

Wow she is quite the spoiled girl! Awesome enclosure!


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## MandellaMandy123 (Nov 19, 2012)

Wow - she's very pretty. Definitely a subadult


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## Plex (Nov 19, 2012)

Beautiful girl! Heh I love most insects and arachnids and can tolerate crickets.. but the one insect that always gets to me is earwigs. An earwig could just look at me and I'll be running in the other direction screaming. &lt;_&lt;


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 19, 2012)

Digger said:


> You captured her colors nicely!


Thank you but I had a little help from my friend Photoshop  



RevWillie said:


> Very pretty mantis, well photographed!
> 
> I know the crickets are not your favorite thing, but if you can feed the crickets good food (fruits, vegetables) for a couple of days before feeding them to your mantis, they are better food for your mantis.


Sure, I'll feed them with good things. Healty crickets for a healty mantis  



fleurdejoo said:


> I will let all kinds of of large insects crawl on me but... If a cricket so much as looks at me cross eyed, I will scream and run like a little bee-yotch


LOL



ShieldMantid1997 said:


> Wow she is quite the spoiled girl! Awesome enclosure!


I try to give her the best home I can  



WolfPuppy said:


> Wow - she's very pretty. Definitely a subadult


Thanks for her  So after the next molt she will be an adult, that's right ?



Plex said:


> Beautiful girl! Heh I love most insects and arachnids and can tolerate crickets.. but the one insect that always gets to me is earwigs. An earwig could just look at me and I'll be running in the other direction screaming. &lt;_&lt;


I don't like small insects, I don't know why, they scare me...

Well, two new picture of the lady and then some questions ^^











And some questions :

- Today I get crickets from my reptile shop. They are smaller than those I bought with Aluine. Should I feed her with one smaller cricket everyday ? Or two crickets each two days ? They are really half the size of those I had before...

- I alway saw "enclosure", do you never use the word "terrarium" ? What is the difference between the two words ?

Thank you all for your answers


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## Plex (Nov 19, 2012)

Mëluzynn said:


> I don't like small insects, I don't know why, they scare me...


 Maybe the small size is the reason? I dunno... the main things that scare me are earwigs. and I can't stand house centipedes either... and as for the crickets, not sure what would work best for you but in cases like that I would feed two every other day, though that's just me..


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 19, 2012)

Plex said:


> Maybe the small size is the reason? I dunno... the main things that scare me are earwigs. and I can't stand house centipedes either... and as for the crickets, not sure what would work best for you but in cases like that I would feed two every other day, though that's just me..


I fed her each two days (monday, wednesday and friday) but the crickets I gave her before were really double size than the crickets I just bought. Si I don't know...


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## hierodula (Nov 19, 2012)

Lol, like the last pic. Shes like turn around.... HEEEHEHEHEE :devil:


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 19, 2012)

I wish I can soon buy a macro lens, she's so tiny it's hard to have close capture ^^


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## fleurdejoo (Nov 19, 2012)

Well when I think terrarium, I think pretty, natural substate and live plants etc. But a lot of people keep their mantids in enclosures with no live plants or earthy substrate.

I keep some of mine in net cages, some in exo-Terra's and some in plastic hex's, these enclosures have some twigs fake leaves, paper towel substrate and lots of screen ventilation. It's not super pretty but is more cost effective and I can control their molting and food intake better. Yours is way nicer!!!!!!


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 19, 2012)

fleurdejoo said:


> Well when I think terrarium, I think pretty, natural substate and live plants etc. But a lot of people keep their mantids in enclosures with no live plants or earthy substrate.
> 
> I keep some of mine in net cages, some in exo-Terra's and some in plastic hex's, these enclosures have some twigs fake leaves, paper towel substrate and lots of screen ventilation. It's not super pretty but is more cost effective and I can control their molting and food intake better. Yours is way nicer!!!!!!


Ok, so an enclosure is no a terrarium, it's more like a breeder box or something like that ? Great, I learned a new word ^^


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## fleurdejoo (Nov 19, 2012)

For instance


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 19, 2012)

Ok, I see, thank you


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## agent A (Nov 20, 2012)

fleurdejoo said:


> For instance


wow u got quite a collection!! i really need a shelf lol


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 20, 2012)

I have a shelf quite the same, full of small fishtanks for my Betta. The advantage with mantis is the enclosures are not filled with water, it's not as heavy as fishtanks so I think you can use any kind of shelfs


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## fleurdejoo (Nov 21, 2012)

That's about half of it! I will post my desk top later.

Having a blast with them A.


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## angelofdeathzz (Nov 22, 2012)

Sweet!!! we do think alike  , Exo's, deli's, smaller net cages can all get their perfect temperature zones, the higher up the warmer it gets with the lights I installed, 20 watt halogens and small florescent light strips.


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## leviatan (Nov 22, 2012)

how big are your S. lineola adult?


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 22, 2012)

leviatan said:


> how big are your S. lineola adult?


Mine ? I have no idea, she's my first mantis and is still subadult.


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## ismart (Nov 22, 2012)

Geez Nick throw on a shirt, and stop scaring the poor mantids! :lol:


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## angelofdeathzz (Nov 22, 2012)

ismart said:


> Geez Nick throw on a shirt, and stop scaring the poor mantids! :lol:


I know right? :clown: 

For some reason its the only downloaded pic of one of my shelves I have, and I didn't even take it??? :wacko:


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## agent A (Nov 26, 2012)

angelofdeathzz said:


> I know right? :clown:
> 
> For some reason its the only downloaded pic of one of my shelves I have, and I didn't even take it??? :wacko:


the idolos took it!


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 26, 2012)

Lol !


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 29, 2012)

New photo shooting of the cutie today, still inside the terrarium but with my undead (I cross my fingers) D90. I'm really afraid to handle Aluine, not really because scares me but because I'm affraid I can hurt her. So I took advantage of a moment where she had decided to move to make a few pictures  

The pictures are retouched with Photoforge2 and Photoshop for iPad, my computer screen calibration need to be redone.

I really like the first one, she was conciensiously cleaning her antennas, it's so cute to watch her cleaning herself like a cat


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## Malakyoma (Nov 29, 2012)

She's a very pretty mantis


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## agent A (Nov 29, 2012)

She will be adult soon


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 29, 2012)

Malakyoma said:


> She's a very pretty mantis


Thanks for her


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 29, 2012)

agent A said:


> She will be adult soon


Her colour changed, I think she will molt but I don't know when, hard to know when you have no experience...


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## agent A (Nov 29, 2012)

i'd say within 3 days


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 29, 2012)

agent A said:


> i'd say within 3 days


I hope so, she's not eating since a few days...


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## lancaster1313 (Nov 29, 2012)

They are usually very close when the wing buds are not only swollen, but have a lifted appearance.


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 29, 2012)

likebugs said:


> They are usually very close when the wing buds are not only swollen, but have a lifted appearance.


She seems to be like that and the wing buds are like blue tainted. She really changed since a few days.


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## fleurdejoo (Nov 29, 2012)

If you think she's going to molt I wouldn't try to handle her.

But a day after she molts you should try it.

I have faith in you! You will not hurt her!


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 30, 2012)

fleurdejoo said:


> If you think she's going to molt I wouldn't try to handle her.
> 
> But a day after she molts you should try it.
> 
> I have faith in you! You will not hurt her!


My cutie is a big girl now  She molts during the night, I took some pictures of her skin still hanged on a plant, it was weird to see that for the first time. I'll post pictures later.

She is so biiiiiig, I don't understand how a so big mantis can be in a so small body, that's amazing... She's beautiful &lt;3

I didn't knew she will be like this as an adult, it's stunning.

I let her dry, she's hanged on a place I can't reach with the D90 so no picture of the young lady today but I can't stop watching her, she's gorgeous


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## lancaster1313 (Nov 30, 2012)

Congratulations!

I could tell that the molt was coming soon by the photos of her.

I had a male _Hierodula multispina _molt into adult in the wee hours of this morning.

He was so weak and cloudy looking, and wouldn't stop moving around the container to find the right spot. I was so nervous that I tried to stay up to see if he would make it OK. I never noticed a mantis be that worried about his foot placement! He was testing all parts of his enclosure for about an hour. It was as if he were afraid to get on with it.  I gave up, went to sleep, and woke up to a lovely new adult.  

Even after keeping insects for a couple of years, I still get nervous about their ecdysis and am amazed by the changes in their bodies.


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 30, 2012)

likebugs said:


> Congratulations!
> 
> I could tell that the molt was coming soon by the photos of her.
> 
> ...


I see that she's not confident today, she's nervous. Usually when I open the Exo-Terra she juste moves her head to watch what I do but that's all. Today when I opened the door to take her skin, she try to escape far from me as she was afraid  

I let her alone but I just want to stare at her, she's so beautiful  

Question : when should I feed her again ?

















I'll try to shoot her tomorrow, if she lets me


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## fleurdejoo (Nov 30, 2012)

Awesome shot!!!! Looks like glass!


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## Malakyoma (Nov 30, 2012)

Mëluzynn said:


> I see that she's not confident today, she's nervous. Usually when I open the Exo-Terra she juste moves her head to watch what I do but that's all. Today when I opened the door to take her skin, she try to escape far from me as she was afraid
> 
> I let her alone but I just want to stare at her, she's so beautiful
> 
> ...


I fed my Creo 36 hours after she molted to adult, but my Ghost didnt eat for 2 days after molting to L5.


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 30, 2012)

fleurdejoo said:


> Awesome shot!!!! Looks like glass!


Thanks  I took some pics of the young lady, she was moving on the top of the terra, post them later  



Malakyoma said:


> I fed my Creo 36 hours after she molted to adult, but my Ghost didnt eat for 2 days after molting to L5.


Noticed, thanks


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## agent A (Nov 30, 2012)

Larger species take longer to start eating again


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 30, 2012)

agent A said:


> Larger species take longer to start eating again


Ok, thank you


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 30, 2012)

She was moving, I couldn't resist to have a rapid photo shoot... :innocent: 


























And I thought about it before, but Aluine became an adult and had her last molt the day my dog Aeydann died 2 years ago... Symbolic...






Miss him...


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## hierodula (Nov 30, 2012)

Ohh.... so sorry  Love the mantis! Very pretty.


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 30, 2012)

He was only five years old... What a mess...

And yes, Aluine is really beautiful, I'm totally amazed by her changement, it's magic


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## agent A (Nov 30, 2012)

That girls got some bulk!!


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## Mëluzynn (Nov 30, 2012)

agent A said:


> That girls got some bulk!!


Is that bad ?


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## agent A (Nov 30, 2012)

Mëluzynn said:


> Is that bad ?


Not at all


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 3, 2012)

First meal as an adult  She molts three days ago.

http://youtu.be/u5VNFe7Rmes

*[EDIT] I don't know why the movie is a link and not a direct viewer... I used the right code, it's weird...*
[EDIT 2] YEAH !!! It finally works...lol

Taken with my Lumix, a bit better than the iPhone ^^

Pictures will follow.


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## lancaster1313 (Dec 3, 2012)

Nice!

It is cool to see the bolus go through her head.


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 3, 2012)

likebugs said:


> Nice!
> 
> It is cool to see the bolus go through her head.


Bolus ? Didn't found it in the dictionary...lol Could you explain please ?


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## lancaster1313 (Dec 3, 2012)

Bolus: The chewed food. You can see it pass through some mantids.

Sorry about that. :blush:


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 3, 2012)

likebugs said:


> Bolus: The chewed food. You can see it pass through some mantids.
> 
> Sorry about that. :blush:


No problem, it's fine, I learn new words and expressions here. My English is really academic, even if I mostly watch movies and series in English with subtitles, to learn more "modern language", I really have to make efforts to learn more  

Thanks for the explanation and don't be sorry ^^


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 13, 2012)

Some honey for the cutie  

http://youtu.be/n1hj9FbLg9M

And just to show how nice she is inside the terrarium in comparison to how aggressive she can be outside...lol

http://youtu.be/9VAY-IKSXQE


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## fleurdejoo (Dec 13, 2012)

She is beautiful and the dog as well!


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 13, 2012)

Aëydann was a wonderful dog, I really miss him...

And Aluine is really beautiful, she's is elegant


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 15, 2012)

Ok... Aluine is definitely not confortable outside of the terrarium... I really don't know what to do to tame her


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## lancaster1313 (Dec 15, 2012)

It seems as if Aluine is not accustomed to being outside her terrarium. Like most/or all, mantids she would prefer not to be bothered at all. The fact that she has never been handled as a nymph, may be why she is so jumpy. Maybe it is normal for that species to be high strung?

However, that doesn't mean that you can't have her out. How else will you do maintenance in her enclosure?

Whenever I have a mantis out, I put them on a plant and feed them there (getting them out without incident, may be the hardest part). I will make a point to keep calm and not make any sudden movements. Sometimes I have them eat on my hand. Once they are eating, they are not usually moving around. Make sure that there are not any other animals out that may bother it.

I am not sure if mantids can be tamed, or if that is even the right word for it.

I suppose that I am lucky that my mantids have been very docile. I have never had much of a problem when handling, with the exception of _Creobroter pictipennis_(they were high strung and had a tendency to dart away, jump, or run more than my other species have).


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 15, 2012)

likebugs said:


> It seems as if Aluine is not accustomed to being outside her terrarium. Like most/or all, mantids she would prefer not to be bothered at all. The fact that she has never been handled as a nymph, may be why she is so jumpy. Maybe it is normal for that species to be high strung?
> 
> However, that doesn't mean that you can't have her out. How else will you do maintenance in her enclosure?
> 
> ...


It seems she has never been handled or never been out of her enclosure before. I don't know how to explain but I see and I feel she's totally in panic when she's not inside. She really try to escape by fear, it's really weird and I'm not doing anthropomorphism, I really see she's terrorised. I have to try to take a video.

In the terra I can touch her, look at the last video, I tease her and she doesn't react. But as soon as she's outside she try to escape, even if she's on the top of the enclosure. I mean, she's quite always hanged on the top so I just open the roof and let her go. I have a false plant hanged on the wall, she runs on it and when she's on the top of the plant she try to run on the wall.

For now I do maintenance with her inside. When I made the definitive decorations (planting plants, adding stones, arranging vines) I made it with her inside...

And tame was not the appropriate word, I don't mean tame as a dog or a cat but tame as teach her I'm not a danger for her.


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## lancaster1313 (Dec 15, 2012)

The plant that I put mine on is on a table without anything near it. I think that they stay there because that is the only place that they can hide. If they leave the plant then they are visible, and therefore vulnerable. Mantids are more comfortable when they feel that they are not visible.

When a mantis is particularly nervous, I will move like a plant in the breeze, it is hard to explain. It is possible, that when I don't move like a creature, they don't even se me as a creature and that may calm them.

Have you tried giving her a prey item when she is out on the plant? She will most likely run or shy away when you try the first couple of times, but maybe she will take it and eat for a few minutes.


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 16, 2012)

I'm actually feeding her in my hand, it's really weird but I love that ^^


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## lancaster1313 (Dec 16, 2012)

Oh Yeah! :clap: 

I knew it would happen, once the both of you calmed down a bit.


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 16, 2012)

I'll try again and again during a few days but it's quite hard for me and for her. She's afraid but I'm a bit too...lol

I know she won't hurt me, I'm more afraid to hurt her :/


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## lancaster1313 (Dec 16, 2012)

Mëluzynn said:


> I'll try again and again during a few days but it's quite hard for me and for her. She's afraid but I'm a bit too...lol
> 
> I know she won't hurt me, I'm more afraid to hurt her :/


I think that you have a wise and healthy anxiety about handling your mantis.  

I was the same way when I started handling small creatures. There is a possibility that they can end up getting injured if they panic and run or jump away. The issue with large females is if they are plump, their weight causes them to fall harder than a lighter insect. I will handle big girls over soft surfaces, just in case they decide to flee.


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 17, 2012)

This evening, she was really mad after seeing fishes in my 21 gallons fishtans : she tries to FLY !!!!! I was totally scared...


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 8, 2013)

Some news from Aluine  

She had her Christmas, with salmon et foie gras (don't know the english word and I'm too lazy to open the dictionnary...), she seems to enjoy both ^^







She's really fat, I have to be careful, I think I fed her too much...

Some picture I took recently :

What ???


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 8, 2013)

And those two are taken with iPhone5 + ōlloclip macro lens


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## Malakyoma (Jan 8, 2013)

She's just as pretty as ever  I believe there isnt actually an english word for Foie Gras, thats always what I hear it referred to as. Aluine eats better than I do though lol


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 8, 2013)

Yeah, this year I really want to eat foie gras but not the commercial one. I bought it from an ethic shop, I don't know how to explain, have to check on the dic...lol

Ok... Force-feed, it was the word I was looking for ^^ It's a guy whomade an non force-feed foie gras, it's damn expensive but you can visit him and see the installations, it's a local producer in my town. The gooses are really well treated, they come to see you, they are not in boxes and they are not sick or apathic. It's still foie gras but in a better way


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## Sticky (Jan 8, 2013)

I love your pictures. They are very good. Never saw a close-up of a behind before! The little hairs are funny.


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 8, 2013)

Sticky said:


> I love your pictures. They are very good. Never saw a close-up of a behind before! The little hairs are funny.


Aluine have an adorably cute butt ^^


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## RevWillie (Jan 8, 2013)

Really enjoying your photos of your beautiful girl!


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## Sticky (Jan 9, 2013)

Yes, keep them coming! I love the fish tank videos. In one she looked lke she was poking at the fish. She was telling you which ones she wanted for dinner or breakfast!


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## agent A (Jan 9, 2013)

got a male for her??


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 9, 2013)

Ok, this is sooooooooo weird... I don't know if I need to panic or not...

This afternoon I just took a look into Aluine's terra and I saw that :

http://youtu.be/iDhpZ25n_ZY

How can she lays an ootheca ??? She's a virgin ! She never saw a male !!! I don't even have a male...


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## D_Hemptress (Jan 9, 2013)

the link didnt work for me, but female mantis will lay ooths as adults even if they havent been mated. i also learned that they only need to me mated once for multiple ooths to be fertile. i have 4 ooths that im waiting to see are fertile or not from a wild caught female i had, i never saw her mate... so fingers crossed!



Mëluzynn said:


> Ok, this is sooooooooo weird... I don't know if I need to panic or not...
> 
> This afternoon I just took a look into Aluine's terra and I saw that :
> 
> ...


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## dtuck91 (Jan 9, 2013)

Don't quote me on this because i'm a noob, but i'm pretty sure all female mantids lay oothecae regardless if they were mated or not. The difference being that if you didn't mate the female, the ooth wont be fertile.


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 9, 2013)

And what about the parthogenesis ?


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## gripen (Jan 9, 2013)

All females can lay ooths when adult no matter what. They will only be fertile if she is mated. Exceptions are brunneria borealis and miomantis.


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## D_Hemptress (Jan 9, 2013)

i know that it is possible but i dont which mantids this can happen with



Mëluzynn said:


> And what about the parthogenesis ?


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## gripen (Jan 9, 2013)

D_Hemptress said:


> i know that it is possible but i dont which mantids this can happen with


Not in this sp.


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 9, 2013)

Ok, so no babies for me, thanks ^^


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 9, 2013)

So now, what I have to do ? I take the ootheca off the terrarium ? Can I keep it ?


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## D_Hemptress (Jan 9, 2013)

ya, you can keep it or just toss it. since gripen confirmed that the species you have, parthogenesis doesnt occur. but id like to see a picture of it, if you dont mind, just so i can see how the ooth looks...


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 9, 2013)

D_Hemptress said:


> ya, you can keep it or just toss it. since gripen confirmed that the species you have, parthogenesis doesnt occur. but id like to see a picture of it, if you dont mind, just so i can see how the ooth looks...


For now I have this one, I'll take other pictures tomorrow (well, it's already tomorrow here, so later) ^^


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## agent A (Jan 10, 2013)

i've heard of sphodromantis viridis being parthenogenic sometimes so u never know...


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## Malakyoma (Jan 10, 2013)

agent A said:


> i've heard of sphodromantis viridis being parthenogenic sometimes so u never know...


There are a couple species where its common and sometimes it just happens at random. Like that one story I was linked a while ago from a guy who said his unmated Taumantis laid a fertile (although very unsuccesful) ooth.


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 10, 2013)

So what should I do ?


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## RevWillie (Jan 10, 2013)

The more you feed her, the more (infertile) ooths she will lay. Unless you breed her, IMO it might be better to feed her moderately, maybe 2 food items every other day, than to feed her as much as she wants.


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## patrickfraser (Jan 10, 2013)

You can remove it or just leave it there. When I get infertile oothecae, I will just throw it in with my feeder roaches(dubias and hissers) . They absolutely love them and I think they make for a nutritious gutload.


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 10, 2013)

RevWillie said:


> The more you feed her, the more (infertile) ooths she will lay. Unless you breed her, IMO it might be better to feed her moderately, maybe 2 food items every other day, than to feed her as much as she wants.


She is not fed as much as she wants, she gets one (normal size) critter each two days


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 10, 2013)

patrickfraser said:


> You can remove it or just leave it there. When I get infertile oothecae, I will just throw it in with my feeder roaches(dubias and hissers) . They absolutely love them and I think they make for a nutritious gutload.


May I keep it, as I kept her last molt ?

Here is the video, the link before didn't worked :

http://youtu.be/iDhpZ25n_ZY


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## D_Hemptress (Jan 10, 2013)

very cool. its so Fluffy!


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## RevWillie (Jan 10, 2013)

Mëluzynn said:


> She is not fed as much as she wants, she gets one (normal size) critter each two days


My mistake, sorry. She was just ready!

Sure you can keep the ooth, like the shed skin. I don't know if you have to do anything special to preserve it (it's full of infertile eggs).


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## Sticky (Jan 12, 2013)

Mëluzynn said:


> May I keep it, as I kept her last molt ?
> 
> Here is the video, the link before didn't worked :
> 
> http://youtu.be/iDhpZ25n_ZY


Of course you can keep it! Let it sit and dry for afew days then gently take it off. Put it in the driest room and it will dry out and not mold up. Then you can do what you like with it.


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 14, 2013)

Huhu :blush: 












Gosh, I love her &lt;3


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## sally (Jan 14, 2013)

what a precocious little face. so adorable. beautiful pictures


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## agent A (Jan 15, 2013)

love the red mouth :tt1:


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## Sticky (Jan 15, 2013)

agent A said:


> love the red mouth :tt1:


The pink looks like lipstick!


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 15, 2013)

Il really love her soft pink little nose ^^


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 20, 2013)

The most beautiful girl in the world &lt;3


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 27, 2013)

(iPhone 5 + olloclip)


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## hierodula (Jan 27, 2013)

you need a male for that beautiful girl.  Nice pics!


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 27, 2013)

I'm not sure I want to breed


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## hierodula (Jan 28, 2013)

Mëluzynn said:


> I'm not sure I want to breed


hahaha  thats how i felt, but there is a certain joy in seeing life being created. Ultimately its your choice


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## Mëluzynn (Jan 28, 2013)

hierodula said:


> hahaha


I breed rats, nice way to see life being created too  

My lovely Pin Up shot today ^^


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## RevWillie (Feb 2, 2013)

Wonderful photos! :clap:


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## Mëluzynn (Jun 25, 2013)

Bad news today... Aluine dies yesterday...

This is the last picture I took of her on Sunday evening.


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## twolfe (Jun 25, 2013)

It's always sad when a special mantis dies. But it's good to hear from you. I haven't seen you posting for a while.


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## patrickfraser (Jun 25, 2013)

Yeah, where have you been? Sorry for your loss. I know how special she was. Gonna give it another go???


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## Mëluzynn (Jun 25, 2013)

Tammy Wolfe said:


> It's always sad when a special mantis dies. But it's good to hear from you. I haven't seen you posting for a while.





patrickfraser said:


> Yeah, where have you been? Sorry for your loss. I know how special she was. Gonna give it another go???


I was a bit in an asocial mood since a few days... The problem when you have bipolar disorders.

And I've been a bit drown between my husband's health problems and my mom who had an open heart surgery this morning.

I'm quite active on the FB page but I have to admit that I wasn't in a good mood to be on any forums...

I'll try to be a bit more present  

And I hope I can adopt a new mantis, won't keep the terrarium empty, it's too sad. But very hard to find breeders here, dunno if I can adopt or if I have to buy an ootheca and try to make it hatch.


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## sally (Jun 25, 2013)

Sorry about Aluine, I saw the video on facebook  I am glad you are looking forward to another mantis.


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## Nicolas (Jun 26, 2013)

Sorry for your loss... my Hierodula Mem. Became an adult today, and I NEED to preserve her with pics! Oh, and her boyfriend


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## Sticky (Jun 26, 2013)

I am so sorry she is gone! She was special. I loved her pictures and videos. RIP sweet lady. I hope you get another mantis.


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## fleurdejoo (Jun 26, 2013)

Mel, I'm so sorry to hear this! When I saw you posted I thought this was what it was gonna be.

It's the circle of life, but it's the sucky part of the circle. But I'm sure she had a super awesome spoiled life!

Weren't you even feeding her fish? Lucky, happy girl!!

You should definitely enter the pin up picture of her for next years calendar!! Oh wait was is it in this years? I see you on FB but have missed you here.

Hope you get another mantis girl!!


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## Mëluzynn (Jun 26, 2013)

sally said:


> Sorry about Aluine, I saw the video on facebook  I am glad you are looking forward to another mantis.


 Thank you Sally  



Nicolas said:


> Sorry for your loss... my Hierodula Mem. Became an adult today, and I NEED to preserve her with pics! Oh, and her boyfriend


 Pictures are the only thing left when they are gone, take a lot of them  



Sticky said:


> I am so sorry she is gone! She was special. I loved her pictures and videos. RIP sweet lady. I hope you get another mantis.


 I'll continue to publish some pictures I haven't shown yet but I'll really miss our photo shootings...



fleurdejoo said:


> Mel, I'm so sorry to hear this! When I saw you posted I thought this was what it was gonna be.
> 
> It's the circle of life, but it's the sucky part of the circle. But I'm sure she had a super awesome spoiled life!
> 
> ...


Hey Jude  

She even had salmon and foie gras, what a hard life...lol She was my girl and a member of the family, it's really hard to see her terrarium empty each time I walk in my corridor.

It seems to be a very hard thing to find a mantis here, it seems that I was damn lucky to find Aluine because I can't find any, nowhere... Some breeders in France have mantis to sell but 1) I don't trust the safety of postal service 2) it's illegal to import animals without a vet certificate.

I think I'll have to find an ootheca and hatch it. Can be a great experience too  But dunno where to find one...lol


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