# Identify?



## TheVesper (Oct 11, 2006)

Okay, so I got a video of the Mantid in question... pay close attention to the insides of the legs, and not any to the dork who wrote a comment claiming poor Simi Sam was gross... anyways, lol, this Mantid was found in Simi Valley 2 months ago. I have had the pleasure of viewing maybe, over the 100 mark, of male california mantids this spring &amp; summer due to the large surplus of them floating about the complex I live in, and none had those inner markings on the legs, all had bigger heads and bigger eyes (i have some pics of the 'normal males'...) and when brown, were generally dark brown not creamy white (he darkens after eating but is usually white)... Is this just a Cali Mantid? A sterile hybrid? A species out of a shipping box? What do you guys think? Seen any marking like that? Thank you in advance for your patience &amp; responses!


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## AFK (Oct 12, 2006)

looks like a chinese mantis


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## Rick (Oct 12, 2006)

Male european mantis.


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## Ian (Oct 12, 2006)

Yes, I agree looks like a male Religiosa.


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## Christian (Oct 12, 2006)

Hi.

It's a _Mantis religiosa_! In California? This would be a new location for this species in N-America! Did you see more of those?

Regards,

Christian


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## tarpshack (Oct 12, 2006)

It looks a lot like the mantis in this picture:

http://www.wildeyereptiles.com/cpg132/disp...bum=6&amp;pos=1

Which would make Rick and Ian correct in saying it's a Mantis Religiosa (European Mantid).


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## TheVesper (Oct 13, 2006)

You guys are the best! Thanks for helping me figure it out I was stumped! The only diff I notice between the two is the eye color, Simi has black eyes, could he be a cali &amp; religosa mix? I don't know if that is possible, I'm a newb :?

He was indeed found at my work place in Simi Valley... but that was 2 months ago, and despite scouring the area no more Mantids (in general) were found. Sadly in Southern California spotting any Mantid is a treat... and not a common occurance as some of you might be so blessed to have &amp; I was blessed to have this year in my living area, so it amazes me my boyfriend stumbled upon him at all. Some guy thought he was a "rare stick bug"... hehe. The picture is even like how he was before he had become more used to captivity, everytime I misted he curled his tail up, hissed and spread his wings...


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## AFK (Oct 13, 2006)

haha, man, i'm horrible with IDing mantids lol.

anyway, holy , did you guys see the other mantis on that site????!?!?!?!!!


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## wuwu (Oct 13, 2006)

> You guys are the best! Thanks for helping me figure it out I was stumped! The only diff I notice between the two is the eye color, Simi has black eyes, could he be a cali &amp; religosa mix? I don't know if that is possible, I'm a newb :? He was indeed found at my work place in Simi Valley... but that was 2 months ago, and despite scouring the area no more Mantids (in general) were found. Sadly in Southern California spotting any Mantid is a treat... and not a common occurance as some of you might be so blessed to have &amp; I was blessed to have this year in my living area, so it amazes me my boyfriend stumbled upon him at all. Some guy thought he was a "rare stick bug"... hehe. The picture is even like how he was before he had become more used to captivity, everytime I misted he curled his tail up, hissed and spread his wings...


i agree. i rarely see any around here. i've lived here for about 20 years, and i've only seen about 10.


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## tarpshack (Oct 13, 2006)

> haha, man, i'm horrible with IDing mantids lol.anyway, holy , did you guys see the other mantis on that site????!?!?!?!!!


Yes, there was actually another discussion about it here:

http://www.mantidforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2908

I was looking at that album because of the coloful mantis and saw the mantis in question here. I remembered this post, and the spots on the arm were exact to the mantis in the video. I thought it was a good reference picture, but I wouldn't have found it if someone wouldn't have been pointing out the colorful one.


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## Rick (Oct 13, 2006)

> You guys are the best! Thanks for helping me figure it out I was stumped! The only diff I notice between the two is the eye color, Simi has black eyes, could he be a cali &amp; religosa mix? I don't know if that is possible, I'm a newb :? He was indeed found at my work place in Simi Valley... but that was 2 months ago, and despite scouring the area no more Mantids (in general) were found. Sadly in Southern California spotting any Mantid is a treat... and not a common occurance as some of you might be so blessed to have &amp; I was blessed to have this year in my living area, so it amazes me my boyfriend stumbled upon him at all. Some guy thought he was a "rare stick bug"... hehe. The picture is even like how he was before he had become more used to captivity, everytime I misted he curled his tail up, hissed and spread his wings...


Its not a cross between those two as that can't happen. European mantids are not even found in your area so if you find another let us know.


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## wuwu (Oct 13, 2006)

maybe a mantid hobbyist let some loose?


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## Butterfly (Oct 16, 2006)

I have a VERY healthy Female European Mantis like that.

She has laid 3 eggs so far and I expect she may lay a few more. I found mine here in the San Fernando Valley. Actually I found her at work down by the smokers area. A coworker called my cellphone and told me to come look at a bug he found because he knew I had kept a couple green Mantids at the time. Now Im gonna end up with litterally hundreds of these guys and plan on releasing quite a few of them so that they can be free and keep mating and propogate the valley again. If anyone wants one as a pet let me know and we can work something out.


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## Rob Byatt (Oct 16, 2006)

> haha, man, i'm horrible with IDing mantids lol.anyway, holy , did you guys see the other mantis on that site????!?!?!?!!!


Beautiful mantis of the family Metallyticidae containing one genus _Metallyticus_. I would love to see these being bred somewhere, anywhere !!


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## TheVesper (Oct 17, 2006)

> I have a VERY healthy Female European Mantis like that. She has laid 3 eggs so far and I expect she may lay a few more. I found mine here in the San Fernando Valley. Actually I found her at work down by the smokers area. A coworker called my cellphone and told me to come look at a bug he found because he knew I had kept a couple green Mantids at the time. Now Im gonna end up with litterally hundreds of these guys and plan on releasing quite a few of them so that they can be free and keep mating and propogate the valley again. If anyone wants one as a pet let me know and we can work something out.


How do I say this:

me me me I want I want I want, I'm 15 mins from you too.. I can help you rear ootheca if you need ! (Hopefully it is fertile!) P.S That is where my boyfriend found the religosa, smoking area, maybe they get nic fits. lols. In the Valley! I just moved from there, and saw hide nor hair of any mantids really in the whole time I spent there growing up. Okay I lied I'd see the ocassional green mantid... i even kept a couple before... but it was ocassional as heck.. like I could count them on my fingers, so your a lucky bum!


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