# Idolomantis/Metallyticus/Eremiaphila/etc.



## Velve

The first male completed the final molt four days ago, and now the green coloration is slowly starting to appear. The wings are slightly misshapen and cannot be fully folded, but it is not affecting the mantis negatively. The rest of the group should follow soon.


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## Connor

Wow he's got some amazing coloration! Congrats on getting this group of yours all the way to sub-adult/adult. Making me excited for my idolos coming in. You mind sharing the enclosure you keep them in? I've been looking for a permanent adult enclosure for mine.


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## Velve

Connor said:


> Wow he's got some amazing coloration! Congrats on getting this group of yours all the way to sub-adult/adult. Making me excited for my idolos coming in. You mind sharing the enclosure you keep them in? I've been looking for a permanent adult enclosure for mine.


Sure. I keep the females in a 70x50x50cm tank and the males in a 60x40x50cm. I custom built them with fiberglass mesh on top, left and right, as well as pressed cork in the background. The top has thin sticks, pencil-thick at most, glued to it.





I removed the bamboo sticks later because they are too smooth and they can't grip them properly, though they spend like 99% of the time on the ceiling anyway, so there's not much of a need for decoration on the lower level. Best to keep it sparse for molting.


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## Connor

Sweet! Yeah Ive got a 20 gallon aquarium with bunch of birch sticks glued to the top and some branches for climbing. What was the base made out of(the frame)? Thanks!


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## Velve

Connor said:


> What was the base made out of(the frame)? Thanks!


The frame was made out of aluminium profiles and three-way connectors. Something similar to this.


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## Ocelotbren

Amazing pictures!


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## Connor

Thanks for sharing your method. I'll have to give a DIY like that a try.


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## Carnival Glass

Woah nice pics! The arm-waving one is pretty cool haha~ Is that a humidity detector at the right corner? I need to get one for my aquarium too so I'm looking for one like that that shows temp and humidity.


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## Velve

Carnival Glass said:


> Woah nice pics! The arm-waving one is pretty cool haha~ Is that a humidity detector at the right corner? I need to get one for my aquarium too so I'm looking for one like that that shows temp and humidity.


Thanks! Yeah, it shows both and records the highest and lowest points measured too. Really useful for the initial setup.

Second one to molt was a female! The rest is gonna take a while longer, as they show no signs of swelling wingbuds yet.




The male has reached full color now. The phone cam doesn't do them justice. Might be worth getting an actual camera. :lol:


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## Connor

Wow they are crazy beautiful. One of my little idolos molted to L4 yesterday. The size growth! Wow! He lost his purple color though  . Though it looks like they get it back once they are adults eh? I'm gonna have to invest in a enclosure like yours.


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## Mystymantis

Wow amazing pictures and beautiful mantises! I love the pictures of them displaying! Makes me want to try out this species some day.  Is this species very communal? I am assuming they are by the picture of several of them in one cage.  

Your costume enclosures are also amazing! Is the front fiberglass mesh as well?


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## Velve

Mystymantis said:


> Wow amazing pictures and beautiful mantises! I love the pictures of them displaying! Makes me want to try out this species some day.  Is this species very communal? I am assuming they are by the picture of several of them in one cage.
> 
> Your costume enclosures are also amazing! Is the front fiberglass mesh as well?


Thanks! The front is acrylic glass with a lock.

They work pretty well in groups, though I did lose a L7 female to cannibalism. I think it was more of an accident or unlucky timing, rather than one of them intentionally going for another. The victim was freshly molted, and the aggressor did molt 2 days ago, yet hadn't accepted food yet. I noticed several times before that them waving their legs around after a molt makes others tend to instincitvely grab them, though they have always immediately realized what they caught and let go. I assume something similar happened in that case, but either the Idolo was too hungry to not care, or it didn't see it was another mantis because it was still dark, while the freshly molted one wasn't able to fight back.


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## Connor

I have heard of them killing one another while molting... that's really the only time cannibalism ever happens with this species unless, of course, you don't feed them enough. But most are accidents like yours. Sad to lose such old female...

Quick question- what instar did you get your males and females at? Because it seems like you timed them up pretty well!


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## Velve

Connor said:


> I have heard of them killing one another while molting... that's really the only time cannibalism ever happens with this species unless, of course, you don't feed them enough. But most are accidents like yours. Sad to lose such old female...
> 
> Quick question- what instar did you get your males and females at? Because it seems like you timed them up pretty well!


I know of another keeper who lost an Idolomantis to cannibalism because of a molt. It's quite odd.

I got them all at L2/L3 on June 26th. I initially ordered 9. One died because of a mismolt during shipping. Another one dropped dead a day after arriving for seemingly no reason, it even still ate some hours before. The third was cannibalism. Now I'm left with 2 males and 4 females, of which a pair is adult and the rest still sub. I expected losses, so I'm not too bothered by it. Overall I'd say it went quite well raising them.

The growth speed of the individuals started to vary a lot past L5. The second male molted subadult after the first one was already adult, for instance.


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## Connor

Wow you got them at the same age and a male and female molted to adult at the same time? That's amazing! Did you have a temperature difference between the males and females? 

I ordered 6 L3 of the idolos. 2 female and 4 males. All of them have molted to L4 except one female. But I have been keeping the males slightly less hot than the females in hopes of slowing them down

Id say you did an amazing job raising them if you've gotten almost every single one this far.


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## Velve

Connor said:


> Wow you got them at the same age and a male and female molted to adult at the same time? That's amazing! Did you have a temperature difference between the males and females?
> 
> I ordered 6 L3 of the idolos. 2 female and 4 males. All of them have molted to L4 except one female. But I have been keeping the males slightly less hot than the females in hopes of slowing them down
> 
> Id say you did an amazing job raising them if you've gotten almost every single one this far.


Thanks! Parameters and feeding are the same, I seperated the genders at L5, when the molting time between the fastest and slowest were already about 2 weeks apart, seems like it just depends on the individuals.

The female is now also starting to gain color, albeit slower than the male did. Left is from October 16th, the day of the molt, right is today. Her shield looks like this because she also molted during shipping and it stayed that way through every instar.


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## Connor

She's beautiful! You plan on breeding?


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## Velve

Thought I'd make a bit of an update after time has passed. 2 females failed their final molt. One was a regular mismolt, I suspect it got dehydrated because it spent a whole week preparing without eating anything. The second one somehow badly hurt its eye at the start of the molt and basically "bled out" before it was finished. You can see a leftover blob of hemolymph on its eye in the following picture.




This left me with 2 females and 2 males. The first female took over a month to get ready to mate, though when I put the male into their tank it showed no interest in mating. I seperated it again and kept it several days in a different room. While this did motivate the male to jump on her, his age seems to have taken a toll on his motoric abilities and his movement became kind of awkward and less coordinated than it should be. He did attempt to copulate several times, but he was always unable to connect. The following pic shows the position he was in, wiggling his abdomen around but being too far off.




2 days ago he then dropped dead, almost reaching 2 months of lifespan after his final molt. The first female laid a pretty big, albeit unfertilized ooth and the second female became ready to mate as well.




The second male turned out to be an extremely slow grower, as it is still subadult today, eating well and without any signs of his wingbuds swelling. I hope he eventually makes it and is able to mate, else my first attempt at breeding Idolomantis will be a failure. Still, they definitely gave me some good experience while raising them and if it won't work out with the male I'm definitely gonna give this species another shot, maybe with an even bigger starting group. Here's a bunch of other photos.











I also recently got a group of L2/L3 Metallyticus splendidus nymphs. They are super small and don't have any metallic colors yet, but I'm absolutely in love with this species. :wub:


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## Connor

Sounds like it’s been pretty eventful in your collection! Sorry to hear about the two females... that really sucks. That’s some pretty unlucky timing with the mating... if only the male was a little younger. I’ve heard you need to increase the temps a lot to mate them. They sure are beautiful though. And I love the splendidus! 

My idolos took quite a turn for the worse. One of my females didn’t molt for over 2 months then suddenly dropped dead. Then while I was visiting Family the heat lamp went out and my last female and one of my males died. Decided to drop the species for now. I will be trying them later though.

hopefully your final Male will be able to fertilize your females and you can get some babies


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## Zeiss

I'm sorry to hear about your mishap with the Idolos, that really sucks to have that happen.

It's awesome to see somebody with Metallyticus splendidus!  I am actually planning on getting a pair of them with a vivarium setup.  Please keep updates on them!


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## Velve

Connor said:


> My idolos took quite a turn for the worse. One of my females didn’t molt for over 2 months then suddenly dropped dead. Then while I was visiting Family the heat lamp went out and my last female and one of my males died. Decided to drop the species for now. I will be trying them later though.
> 
> hopefully your final Male will be able to fertilize your females and you can get some babies


Sorry to hear about that, sounds like a chain of bad events.

The male's wingbuds are swollen now and it stopped eating two days ago. The molt should hopefully happen very soon. Meanwhile each female laid another ooth, stings a bit to see such large ones go to waste.  








Zeiss said:


> It's awesome to see somebody with Metallyticus splendidus!  I am actually planning on getting a pair of them with a vivarium setup.  Please keep updates on them!


Will do!


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## Velve

A late and final update regarding the Idolos. Prior to the molt, the male already started getting motoric issues with his raptorial legs, such as odd spasming and loss of control. It was not able to align them at all during the molt, leading to them just hanging downwards and causing a failure. I'll let the females live out the rest of their days and consider all the things I can improve on. Maybe I'll try again with another batch of nymphs in summer.


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## River Dane

@Velve I’m sorry things didn’t work out with your males.   

But maybe in Summer, you’ll have a better chance. 

Beautiful females, though, lovely colors.


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## Connor

Ah damnit... that’s too bad. You gave it a good try though and even got some beautiful females to adult!

Im going to be giving this species another try... this time with some more experience and preparation. I’m gonna hopefully hatch a few ooths so I should HOPEFULLY get a good chance with this species. I wish you the best this time around.


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## Velve

@River Dane No worries! Raising them was still a lot of fun and gave me some good experience.

@Connor Best of luck! A few hundred nymphs sure would be a great way to start the next attempt. :lol: 

Meanwhile, the Metallyticus have been doing well. They aren't very fast growers though, so they are currently at L4/L5. At L6 they should finally get their characteristic metallic shine.







Also got a group of Eremiaphila sp. a while ago. I've been wanting to try these out for ages and finally saw an offer I could take. Such adorable oddballs.


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## Velve

One Idolo left. She's starting to show signs of old age like dark spots on her shield and missing tarsi, but she's still going strong.




One of my R. megaera females is a dwarf. The size difference between her and other females is quite noticeable, and even a male is bigger. Pretty interesting, they are all from the same ooth too.








H. coronatus that I'll hopefully find a male for soon.





The Eremiaphila have been growing amazingly quick. 4 adults, 4 subadults currently.










The M. splendidus are getting shinier with each molt. Still gonna take a while until they are adult though.


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## Ocelotbren

Sorry to hear that your Idolo is getting up there in age, but she does still look amazing! Your R. megaeras are very pretty too, and it's kinda cool that you got a dwarf.

The Eremiaphila have the cutest faces, although I know the fake "pupils" may have a hand in that in the pictures.

Thanks for sharing!


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## Sarah K

You have some beautiful rare species there, very nice!


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## Velve

Got some matings done recently. My H. coronatus male struggled a lot with positioning and connecting, but after one week of attempts he succeeded at last. Hopefully I can expect fertilized ooths soon.







Several Eremiaphila females have been mated as well. Really interesting to watch, when the male approaches from the front and feels threatened, he starts to dance while moving towards the rear.  If he's placed behind the female he simply waits until she starts moving, then stalks her until he is able to make a leap. I managed to capture the dancing on video:





This male somehow has a lot of trouble connecting. The other male does it in a few seconds after hopping on, and the copulation is finished after around 5 minutes. Two females laid ooths so far.










The biggest one of my M. splendidus should be presub now, I think. If that's correct, then I can expect the first adult in about 2 months.







The old Idolo lady has gotten really threat-happy. Previously it was impossible to intentionally trigger her display and I had to get lucky by accidentally startling her, but now tapping on the flyscreen above is enough to make her show it.


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## Ocelotbren

Great pictures as always.


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## TheShadyMantid

Wow, nice work with the pics and especially the video.  Can't get over that guy's little dance.  Really a treat to see, thanks =)


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## Mantis Lady

that one with the big eyes and head looks very cute. :wub:


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## Mintmantis

You have the most amazing array of mantid's I have ever laid my eyes on!


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## MantisGirl13

I love those desert mantis pics! So cute! I want one!


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## Velve

This week the first Eremiaphila ooth has started to hatch. Not sure yet whether the hatching process is normal for the species or if it's just that ooth, but there are just one or two little nymphs popping out each day instead of all at once, might be because they always come out of the little tip. A few minutes after being born they are already able to sprint at full speed.










I've also learned that Eremiaphila males can be really damn aggressive. After jumping on, one male deciced that it would rather try to eat the female instead of copulating, which led to both of them biting each other. They were so intertwined that I could not separate them by hand. After exchanging some bites they did let loose, but the male was incapacitated and had to be put down. Thr female seemed alright at first, but died several days later as well.




During another mating, my second male randomly bit the eye of the female, though she didn't even fight back and he thankfully let it go after one bite. She's still doing well and laying ooths.







The M. splendidus have a decent size by now, I think next week I can expect the first subadult. After molting the older nymphs gain a nice purple sheen for a day, then it goes back to full green.










A threat dance GIF:



I've also got some tiny Tarachodula pantherina nymphs this week. I'm so excited to raise this species!


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## River Dane

Those are some amazing species! That’s odd that the males of Eramiaphila attack the females, though. But congratulations on the ooths and nymphs!

Also, good luck with your new panthers!


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## danl82

Beautiful, different species. Gutting that that male did that though, at least you've already got some nymphs hatched out. Can't wait to see some pictures of the splendidus as adults.


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## MantisGirl13

WIll you be selling your Eremiaphila Sp. nymphs? I WANT! So adorable! Where did you get your Metallycus splendidus? They have such neat colors! You have a great collection!

- MantisGirl13


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## Velve

MantisGirl13 said:


> WIll you be selling your Eremiaphila Sp. nymphs? I WANT! So adorable! Where did you get your Metallycus splendidus? They have such neat colors! You have a great collection!
> 
> - MantisGirl13


Thanks! I'm located in Europe, so I don't think shipping overseas would work well. I'm pretty sure I've seen US breeders sell Eremiaphila in the classifieds at some point, though.

I got the M. splendidus from a German breeder back in November. Their growth is really slow, but they've come a long way from the tiny brown specks they were when I got them.


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## MantisGirl13

Oh well. Thanks anyway! I agree that shipping overseas wouldn't work that well. I have always wanted metallycus splendidus, but I don't know where to get them!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady

Beautiful  mantids you have. the Tarachodula pantherina  is on my wish list too. They are so cute with their big heads. But have enough mantids for now or my living room will be changing in a mantid zoo.


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## MantisGirl13

Is a mantis zoo really such a bad thing? I wish I had enough money to make a mantis zoo in my room!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady

For me not.  Don't think my hubby would like to live in a mantis zoo.He doesn't understand what I like about mantids. I dont think I will get him in the mantis hobby too..


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## MantisGirl13

Yeah... Not everyone is into mantids!

- MantisGirl13


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## Velve

Turns out I already had subadult M. splendidus. The first male completed his final molt today and looks gorgeous!


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## Ocelotbren

Wow amazing, and there's nothing like a surprise adult!  Nice pictures, and the mantids look awesome.


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## Mantis Lady

Gratz on the molt. those mantids looks to me like beetles.?


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## danl82

Are the eremiaphila communal?


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## Velve

danl82 said:


> Are the eremiaphila communal?


No, the L1 are already starting to cannibalize.


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## MantisGirl13

Wow! That M.spledidus is a beauty! 

- MantisGirl13


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## danl82

Velve said:


> No, the L1 are already starting to cannibalize.


Voracious little beasts! Puts them squarely on my future want list    I'm sure I read somewhere on online about them being communal, but after seeing what happened with yours at mating couldn't see it myself lol!


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## Velve

Three M. splendidus males are adult now. Once they get ready to mate, they are occasionally having phases of extreme activity. They run and fly around the tank for several hours nonstop, it's funny to watch.






















I tried to make a few GIFs of them flying. Sorry for the wonky camera work, but they are so hard to film and I have to pay a lot of attention so they don't get loose in the room.




The subadult females got some intense colors.











I've had a few losses among the young Tarachodula nymphs and as "luck" would have it, I only have males left. Hopefully I can get hold of females or another batch of nymphs, I like this species. They've got great awareness of their surroundings and a really pretty pattern.
















And here's an Eremiaphila nymph playing dead. Sometimes they just freeze when they get startled.


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## Ocelotbren

The M. splendidus look so cool, and the adults are just too cute when they run and fly haha.  Great shots of the Tarachodula also.


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## Mantis Lady

Hehe this is funny: playing dead: I love this picture


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## MantisGirl13

Wow! Those are some amazing mantids you have there! Your panthers are adorable, and I love the pic of the Eremiaphila playing dead!   

- MantisGirl13


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## Velve

Finally, the first M. splendidus female reached adulthood. It took her two days to gain her color, though I think the purple wings also looked pretty cute.


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## Synapze

Beautiful specimens!


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## MantisGirl13

Wow! I love those purple wings! Congratulations!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady

Those wings looks cool on them. Well fitting with the other colors.


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## danl82

Those metallyticus are stunning. Hopefully you'll get some ooths from them.


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## hcarlton

Another species on the eventual want list; who cares if it's small, when it looks that cool it's worth looking into


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## Velve

All but two M. splendidus are adult now. I managed to get a decent comparison between a fully colored female and one that molted a day ago.

















I also attempted to film a female a bit. They are less hyperactive than the males, but my camera still has a hard time capturing them.



The Eremiaphila offspring is doing great. One male was a very fast grower and has already reached adulthood. He is so small though that I think he might have skipped a molt for some reason. Two females of the previous generation are also still alive.


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## Mantis Lady

Ate this little guy the whole  grasshopper?  His dinner  looks bigger than the mantis. (his eyes are so cute)


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## Velve

Little Mantis said:


> Ate this little guy the whole  grasshopper?  His dinner  looks bigger than the mantis. (his eyes are so cute)


Yeah, they can eat ridiculous amounts of food until they are fully sated.


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## hcarlton

Voracious little things...I find it amusing the one photo where he's so hungry he doesn't even care that he's practically upside down.


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## Velve

All the M. splendidus males are dead by now, the tank has gotten very calm again.  Matings occurred, so hopefully something hatches out of the ooths. Apparently the incubation time can be over three months, it'll be a while until I potentially see success.

















The next generation of Eremiaphila is all grown-up and ready to mate again. Such a fast life cycle.











Also trying out Acontista sp., a tiny species whose nymphs mimick ants. They are capable of parthenogenesis, on which I'll have to rely on for offspring since I didn't get any males. I hope it works out, they are pretty and active little mantids.











Heterochaeta orientalis











Plistospilota guineensis


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## MantisGirl13

Wow! You still have quite the collection! I really want to get Eremiaphla. Your H. orientalis is beautiful. You were wrong about one thing, though! Your Mettalycus tank does not look very calm to me!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady

This threat pose is making her more cute then ever :






This one looks cute too:


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## MantisGirl13

They are adorable.

- MantisGirl13


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## Velve

Freshly hatched M. splendidus after an incubation time of 100 days.


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## MantisGirl13

Ooh, wow! So tiny! I am jealous!

- MantisGirl13


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## bugboymark

Incredible photos...of some really unique species.  With their mimicry, I'm seeing - ants, tiger beetles, small cricket/grasshoppers...with extra personality.  Really surprised how small the nymphs are for the M. splendidus.  Are they aggressive enough to tackle ffs at that stage? 

Regardless, keep the photos coming if possible. Good stuff.


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## Mantis Lady

What a size difference between the nymph and the adult. Cool


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## danl82

Congratulations on the metallyticus hatch. Not something many have achieved.


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## hysteresis

This whole post


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## Jaywo

These are amazing pictures and subjects alike. I hope you have some productive and fertile ooths.


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## cwebster

Great detail!


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## Cole 78

@Velve how do you get the black background for your pics? I mostly use plain white, but wanted to try something else.


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## Velve

The first ooth fully hatched over three days, giving me 14 live nymphs, a decent number for this species.













bugboymark said:


> Incredible photos...of some really unique species.  With their mimicry, I'm seeing - ants, tiger beetles, small cricket/grasshoppers...with extra personality.  Really surprised how small the nymphs are for the M. splendidus.  Are they aggressive enough to tackle ffs at that stage?


They eat springtails until L3. From then on firebrats are their main source of food. The species doesn't accept flies too well, flat food like firebrats and roaches work great and conveniently run towards the dark hiding spots where the M. splendidus wait for them.

Here's a comparison between a L1 and a dead D. melanogaster. They are too big for the frail nymphs.








Cole 78 said:


> @Velve how do you get the black background for your pics? I mostly use plain white, but wanted to try something else.


That's caused by my camera's flash. I don't have any setup for photos.


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## MantisGirl13

Oh wow, they are tiny! They look like little crickets!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady

MantisGirl13 said:


> They look like little crickets!


Yeah they look like that


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## Velve

Gonna dig this thread up with some new pics.

Got me a subadult Metallyticus violaceus pair, as well as a small group of L2 just in case something were to go wrong with the pair. The pair got a bit damaged during shipping, with the female losing a leg and the male losing the tibia of its raptorial leg. Thankfully it didn't impact them, the female managed to regenerate a whole mini leg after the final molt, though the male did not regrow the tibia.

These guys are so nervous. While the M. splendidus don't really care if I flip over their hides to check up on them, the M. violaceus immediately become restless and will dash towards the next hiding spot, makes getting decent photos of them pretty hard.





































And some Metallyticus splendidus pics. Males are turning adult, females should follow shortly after New Year.


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## Velve

The M. violaceus female has now started calling in the past days, over a month after her final molt. The male hasn't shown interest yet, but I'm sure it'll work out soon enough. He did molt after her, so probably just takes a bit more time. The younger group is also growing nicely.












All the M. splendidus also got through their molts without issues. Here are the girls of both species.






The purple coloration that M. splendidus have for about a day after their molt is always lovely. I wouldn't mind if some of them permanently stayed that way. 








post-molt color gain















Here's a display of their iridescence. The upper photo was taken with camera flash, the lower one with a LED shining from a different angle.






I got me a 45x45x60cm/18''x18''x24'' Exo Terra for the M. splendidus since I thought it'd be a waste to keep housing them in the utilitarian setup, so I tried to make something a bit more naturalistic looking. Changed the ceiling for a very fine mesh and secured all slits where firebrats could escape. I'm happy with how it turned out, but I still want to add more elevated bark bridges to make more use of the middle, and hopefully the plants will grow nicely. I'd like to make another setup like this for the M. violaceus in the future as well.


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## guapoalto049

Photos are wonderful! Great work with the Metallyticus, they seem tricky. How do you raise your firebrats?


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## TheWrongCrowd

Wow! Impressive photos!


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## Velve

guapoalto049 said:


> Photos are wonderful! Great work with the Metallyticus, they seem tricky. How do you raise your firebrats?








This is my firebrat tub. It's 50x40x20cm(~20''x16''x8''). I heat it with a mat 24/7 so that it's warm enough for them to breed and grow up well. Their eggs are laid in the cotton, fish flakes as food, and some carton and paper towels as hiding spots, from which you can easily collect them. The cup with stocking is filled with water for humidity. There's hundreds of firebrat nymphs, they've been growing well and it should be at the point where it has become sustainable, but I've burned through most of the initial adults. A few Metallyticus eat quite a lot of them, and it takes firebrat nymphs a few months to reach adulthood. Definitely something to keep in mind when getting these mantids, either prepare the breeding setups months in advance, or start with enough to not run out of feeders until all the smaller ones are growing up.

I've also been feeding wax moths and bottleflies on the side. They take very well to the moths, you can easily handfeed the M. splendidus with them. Bottleflies with torn off wings are occasionally thrown into the tank. Sometimes they're quickly eaten, sometimes they're dropped after a few bites.

The M. splendidus have gotten used to their new tank. It's amazing how lively they can get during the day. Even the females like using their wings for extended jumps. I observed matings too, but haven't spotted any ooths yet. Not even in the M. violaceus tank, though that girl looks so fat that it shouldn't be too long.




































































The M. splendidus make it really easy to photograph them. They usually remain unfazed even when you're with your hand right in front of their face. Meanwhile the M. violaceus will dart right into their hiding spot the moment they sense you in the room. Hard to get any decent shots of them.


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## guapoalto049

Really great to see close care taken, rather than just aesthetically pleasing tanks et al that the mantises don’t flourish in. 
I’ve avoided most bark dwelling species for the simple fact of firebrat and springtail requirements. 
Have you gotten any more opportunities with Idolomantis?


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## Velve

guapoalto049 said:


> Have you gotten any more opportunities with Idolomantis?


I haven't bothered with Idolomantis again, keeping a large fly supply going for a group of them was kind of a hassle the last time. I'd probably want to just breed bottleflies myself the next time I'm attempting Idolos. I'm content with the Theopompa and Metallyticus for now, they take up enough space anyway in addition to my herps. Majangella moultoni is a species I'd like to give a shot next, but I haven't seen offers in a good while.


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## TheWrongCrowd

The desert mantis look like cartoons they are real cute


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## Mantidfinatic13

They r soooo pretty!

do you keep them together i
n the same enclosure?


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## Velve

Mantidfinatic13 said:


> They r soooo pretty!
> 
> do you keep them together i
> n the same enclosure?


They are only kept communally within their own species. I want to make another Exo Terra for the M. violaceus in the coming months since the younger group is growing nicely.

Spotted the first M. splendidus ooth today, laid in a pre-drilled hole in the stump in the middle of the tank.


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## Mantidfinatic13

Wow their ooths are so different compared to other mantid species!

kinda look like coins


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## Mantidfinatic13

Their copulation is different from other mantids too!


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## Mystymantis

Your mantises, M. splendidus, look like Tiger beetles! I have never seen a mantis with metallic sheen like these! Awesomely epic species!


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## Velve

Just posting some new pics. The M. splendidus are all still alive and kicking. I managed to locate 6 ooths so far, 4 of which were laid inside the trunk in the middle of the tank. Their wings are starting to look worn down, not surprising given how much they run and jump through the tank all the time. Hand feeding the females has become pretty easy in a bigger tank, even mealworms get readily accepted.


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## guapoalto049

Are the females depositing ooths in some of the early photos?


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## Velve

guapoalto049 said:


> Are the females depositing ooths in some of the early photos?


Yeah. I noticed that they prefer the holes with 4mm diameter.


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## Velve

The first three M. splendidus ooths have hatched. Getting these little ones out of the adult tank takes a bit of time with how quickly they zoom around, and I keep spotting new ones. At least there's plenty of springtails and gnats to eat in there, and the adults don't seem to pose a threat, you can sometimes see the L1 sitting and moving right around them. A female was the first one to die in the group, leaving me with 3 males and 2 females for now. Matings still occur, so hopefully they're gonna drop a few more ooths before their time comes.
























My M. violaceus female only laid two ooths so far, no hatch yet, and the male has died. My nymph group has grown nicely though, so I moved them into her tank. The first one of them to reach adulthood was a female. I should really get them a bioactive ExoTerra, like the M. splendidus have, soon.


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## Velve

Got the first M. violaceus babies! The first ooth turned out to be a dud, while the second one has given me a whopping two nymphs so far. Not sure yet if they're early hatches or if that pair just wasn't very fertile, but that scenario is why I got the second group for safety anyway.

You can already tell the species apart at L1, The M. violaceus have a more contrasting look with their darker color and lack of pattern.











Finally managed to handfeed a M. violaceus. Even they can't resist juicy waxmoths.















The M. splendidus males are really surprising me with their longevity. They molted to adulthood mid-December and are still going strong. The signs of age are getting apparent though, their wings are looking ragged.















My second Theopompa servillei generation is making me a bit nervous. Due to some unlucky odds, I am now sitting on 7 females and 1 subadult male. An adult male died on me yesterday after failing to connect and copulate during the last three mating attempts. He did manage to connect during a mating in May, but I'm unsure whether he really transferred a spermatophore. If my guy makes it to adulthood safely he's gonna have a busy time.


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## Velve

The new tank for the M. violaceus is now finished and they moved in, pretty happy with how it turned out. I'll have to tweak the M. splendidus tank soon and add some more bark around the middle area there as well.







I would have liked to get a closeup shot with an adult pair and subadult in one pic, but they are just too restless during handling.









They got right down to exploring and claiming bark hides.
























A bloated ooth left in the old tank, the hole must've been a bit too small to fit everything.


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## Mantis Lady

Is it a fertile ooth?


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## Velve

Little Mantis said:


> Is it a fertile ooth?


I think it has a good chance, the eggs are all properly coated in the protective foam, and I believe the ooth has been laid by a young female. The old M. violaceus girl laid all her ooths flat between two cork sheets, though I still haven't gotten any additional nymphs from hers. Maybe the previous male wasn't very fertile, or maybe eggs are a lot more susceptible to dry out or get damaged when they are laid in this manner, I'm not sure. But now that they are in the new tank, future ooths are hopefully laid inside the stems I prepared.






A bunch of my M. splendidus nymphs have reached L4, so I prepared an intermediate setup where they can grow a bit more until they're ready for the main tank.


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## Velve

I managed to film the mating initiation of a M. splendidus pair today! Even at their age, the males still went crazy as soon as they sensed a female emitting pheromones. I just wish I had noticed it a little sooner so I could have set up some lighting for better quality, but they are so quick.





The last of my M. violaceus has entered adulthood. This one decided to molt on the ceiling in the usual mantis style for some reason, I've only seen young nymphs do it like that before.


















And two ooths have been deposited in a log so far.


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## craigbaker

Beautiful work. Congratulations


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