# Temporary black eyes???



## yen_saw

when i switch on the light in the mantis room, all the mantis eyes look black in color, like someone had punch their eyes  but their eyes turn back to green after a while, what is causing all this changes in eye color? Is it the same theory as cat eyes? Thanks.


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## Ian

I have found exactly the same thing with some of mine, my sphods especially. And, my P Wahlbergii were deep purple eyed this morning, wierd....

Cheers,

Ian


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## yen_saw

Yeah, here is a pic of mantis black eyes right after I brought her out from the dark room.







:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:


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## Ian

yen, what have you been feeding her, lol

Cheers,

Ian


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## PseudoDave

Have seen it before myself, it was with an H.membrenacea i believe, it didnt seem to be light triggered though, was always random with her. Has this been happening all the time you've had it? Or more recently? Either way, my mantis came to no harm when it was going on, just an interesting thing to see.

Dave


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## yen_saw

Same thing happened to my P. Wahlbergii too.... and other mantises (except ghost :lol: )

Ian, She was probably studying too hard to prepare for the GSCE exam :lol: Thus the black eyes.... only joking.

She died when I traded her to someone. Here is another pic of her, also taken with black pointy eyes.






She's Oxyopsis Peruviana.


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## Christian

Hi.

This is because of the moving of pigments in the accessory pigment cells in the ommatidia. When dark, the pigments retreat, so more light reaches the retina cells (rhabdom) in the eye. This allows the mantid to perceive movements by night (enhancement of remaining light) - of course, without the sharpness of the "usual" eye. So they can catch prey by night, too. When not hungry or sick, however, the eyes retain their normal color even when dark.

Greetings,

Christian


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## Ian

wow, cheers christian, you seem very experienced with mantids. I found also, when they are near death, their eye colour darkens. Does this also make sense?

Cheers.,

Ian


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## Christian

Well, when they're near death, there is no more sense in anything... :wink:

G.,

Christian


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## Exotic-Mantis

Hello,

Yes Christian is right. Just like a humans eyes, when you are put in a dark room your pupils enlarge then when put in a light room they get back to normal size, except in mantids when dark, the eyes get darker. However, i notice humidity affects the eye color. Not from black to regular but in other cryptic ways, for example, when hymenopus are normal and their eyes are light, when you mist them and the humidity is above average, their eyes will stay white but some violet striped will be going through their eyes.

Thanks

Eros


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## Rick

You guys have never noticed this before? I first saw this when I was a little kid out catching mantids.


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## Macano

I've noticed nearly all my mantids (except ghost or gongy) do this also. If it has been dark for an hour or so and I flip the light on they all have black eyes. I just figured it was their version of "liquid purple" that humans have. After reading Christians post it seems that our eyes do indeed react to darkness very similarly to mantids.

Liquid purple is also called Rhodopsin. It's a pigment produced by your eye cells when they have had a period of exposure to darkness (usually half an hour or so for full effect). This pigment is highly sensitive to light and allows your rod cells to pick up minute amounts of light. Rhodopsin explains in large part why turning on a light when your eyes have adjusted to darkness can be temporarily blinding. We actually cannot produce but use beta caratene to synthesize it. Ever heard carrots are good for your eyes? 8) Here's a website with more info http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2003/.../998/Rhoeye.htm


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## dakota

what type of mantis is that yen


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## Andrew

> She's Oxyopsis Peruviana.


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## DMJ

One of my P.Whalbergii has a white eye and a purple eye lol


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## summerland

OH I just had to respond to this!

I have noticed this in my mantids before, and did a little research. The best explaination I found was at the children's library. Go find those small books with the awesome images and the super INFO!

ON the internet, this was the best I could come up with for you:

http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/b...haviorsight.htm

It really is fascinating!


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## Ian

wow summer, thats great, what a detailed explanation.

Cheers,

Ian


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## yen_saw

Thanks Christian and Summerland!!! Have noticed this for a long time but now I know. That's so much to learn.....


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## Max

Which Species Can Be Observed After Turning The Light On To Have Black Eyes? Some My Lineola Get Almost A Bloody Red Colored Eyes When I Turn On The Light......


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