# Can you identify this?



## Sparky (Jul 16, 2007)

I found this mantis while playing sandcastle fortress with my little brother.

Can you identify it?

















It turns pale at night and its eyes turn blood red.


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## Rick (Jul 16, 2007)

Stagmomantis is my guess. Looks like it may have the large parasitic worm in it's abdomen.


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## Sparky (Jul 16, 2007)

huh, really? how can you tell?


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## Rick (Jul 16, 2007)

> huh, really? how can you tell?


When I was a kid growing up in the midwest I often found stagmomantis carolina that had an abdomen shaped like that. Inside was a large, fat parasitic worm. Not for sure if that's the same situation here but the shape of the abdomen reminded me of it.


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## Sparky (Jul 16, 2007)

Well it was skinny and thin, but it ate 4 fruitflies before I took the picture.


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## Rick (Jul 16, 2007)

> Well it was skinny and thin, but it ate 4 fruitflies before I took the picture.


Four fruitflies made it swell up like that? No way unless it's much smaller than it appears in the pic.


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## Asa (Jul 16, 2007)

I think he said in another post that it was much smaller.


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## chrisbrock (Jul 16, 2007)

looks teeny tiny to me


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## Sparky (Jul 16, 2007)

it is teeny tiny. Its not even an inch.


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## OGIGA (Jul 17, 2007)

Rick, is there something common in all stagmomantis? How can you tell that this is stagmomantis?


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## Morpheus uk (Jul 17, 2007)

I saw a picture while browsing the other day and it had a near identical mantis and said it was a linor ground mantis or summut like that


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## robo mantis (Jul 17, 2007)

Rick is the ownzor when it comes to mantids :wink:


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## Asa (Jul 17, 2007)

I don't understand all this at all...


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## robo mantis (Jul 17, 2007)

Just go along with it :wink:


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## Sparky (Jul 17, 2007)

YAY!!! When I woke up this morning it molted!

It looks waaayy bigger and not like a puny runt anymore! :lol:


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## robo mantis (Jul 17, 2007)

Congrats


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## Asa (Jul 17, 2007)

Nah, I bet its still a puny runt. :lol:


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## Sparky (Jul 17, 2007)

well its small but it looks way bigger than its small self so the fact that

it got bigger surley makes it not a runt but a big runt.


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## Sparky (Jul 19, 2007)

wow, hes really bad at catching prey and won't eat unless I hand feed him.


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