# NEW SPECIES! Sphodropoda quinquedens



## Precarious (Dec 15, 2012)

Direct from down under, Sphodropoda quinquedens...


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## Precarious (Dec 15, 2012)




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## Precarious (Dec 15, 2012)




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## Precarious (Dec 15, 2012)




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## hierodula (Dec 15, 2012)

WANT!!!!!!! is this the species youve been waiting to show?


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## Precarious (Dec 15, 2012)

hierodula said:


> WANT!!!!!!! is this the species youve been waiting to show?


Yup, finally finished the photos.


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## hierodula (Dec 15, 2012)

Awesome! i love the variations in color, as well as their purple mandibles and their decorative arms. Very cool species!


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## Mime454 (Dec 15, 2012)

I like the Tenodera one better, but these are cool. Love the decorated arms and black nails. It should be called the gothic peacock mantis.


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## Precarious (Dec 15, 2012)

hierodula said:


> Awesome! i love the variations in color, as well as their purple mandibles and their decorative arms. Very cool species!


Agreed. I knew about the bold stripping on the arms and red mouths but did not expect the other beautiful colors. Really subtle pastel colors that are hard to even capture in photos. The yellow ones have this peach sheen on the abdomen that's really amazing in person. Almost opalescent. I love the combination on some of the males - pinkish bodies with red mouth and stripes, and baby blue eyes.

The odd thing is the colors seem to be indicative of sex. The males tend toward flesh, pink, reddish and creamy orange, while the females are green or yellow. So you can sex them just with that information. I'm not aware of another species with that trait. We'll see if this holds true next generation.


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## hierodula (Dec 15, 2012)

Are they from south america? Cause then south american purple jawed mantis maybe? or possibly south american pastel mantis?


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## Mime454 (Dec 15, 2012)

hierodula said:


> Are they from south america? Cause then south american purple jawed mantis maybe? or possibly south american pastel mantis?


He said that they were from Australia. That sexing information is very interesting.


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## hierodula (Dec 15, 2012)

australian purple jawed mantis/ pastel mantis?


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## Mime454 (Dec 15, 2012)

Those are boring names.

Flamboyant goth mantis.


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## hierodula (Dec 15, 2012)

Mime454 said:


> Those are boring names.
> 
> Flamboyant goth mantis.


   how about oober awesome mantis???


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## sally (Dec 15, 2012)

Love the colors! The stripes just kill me .I really love this mantis.


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## brancsikia339 (Dec 15, 2012)

Those are amazing!!!! If you breed them, I MUST get some!!!!


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## sinensispsyched (Dec 15, 2012)

Awesome new species!

Out of curiosity, was it a big deal when they first discovered "commonly captive" sphodro sp. like "Blue Flash" or the linoleas?


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## chrisnoahdana (Dec 15, 2012)

I have some myself , I don't think they slightly compair to the two you mentioned these are from Australia , nymphs when I got mine were burnt orange to red , lips red as adults day and night to a blue flag and any new sp if fun for a true hobbyist , ugly, outrageous or not


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## twolfe (Dec 15, 2012)

Very cool species. I just love those stripes. And your mantis portraits are so amazing. It looks like you have cooperative subjects. Perhaps they want you to make them famous. You should have submitted one of these photos for the calendar... Good luck with them.


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## patrickfraser (Dec 15, 2012)

OOOOH! Call it the Cinderella mantis. Make it pink...Make it green... :lol: I love anything pink, especially pink poodles. lol. How big do they get?


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## fleurdejoo (Dec 15, 2012)

Oh my god! So beautiful!!!

Honestly they are cute though, reminds me of some sort beetle juice bug.


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## gripen (Dec 15, 2012)

Nice. The common name in australia is burrying mantis.


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## fleurdejoo (Dec 15, 2012)

Yes how big do they get?


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## gripen (Dec 15, 2012)

fleurdejoo said:


> Yes how big do they get?


Stagmomantis size or smaller.


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## aNisip (Dec 15, 2012)

How many do you have and how many different color morphs have you experienced?

Awesome job!  ^ ^


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## Plex (Dec 15, 2012)

Beautiful species!

I love the colors on them!


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## Termite48 (Dec 15, 2012)

Henry: Outrageous pics again. This is really a great new arrival. The upper raptoral stripes remind me of the old "jailbird" attire from the Laurel and hardy films.


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## CesarF (Dec 15, 2012)

Fantastic mantid!! \ō/


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## Precarious (Dec 15, 2012)

I of course will be trying to breed these and spread them around. Hopefully we get a culture going and everyone gets a chance to experience them. They are an odd species. Somewhere between a ground mantis and a bark mantis in behavior. They have short legs so they walk funny. The short legs also make it easy for them to molt from a vertical surface.

One of the oddest things is they often try to walk _under_ an obstacle rather than over it like other mantids. And I have heard they sometimes lay ooths on the ground! Now that is odd. I know some of the sand-dwelling species like Eremiaphila do this. Should be interesting to witness.



sinensispsyched said:


> Out of curiosity, was it a big deal when they first discovered "commonly captive" sphodro sp. like "Blue Flash" or the linoleas?


I wasn't in the hobby then so I don't know. I think Blue Flash were just becoming established when I showed up and they were very popular. Personally, I love S.viridis best.

It's always interesting for me to be able to get hands on a new species, most especially one as photogenic as this one. There are virtually no photos of this species online and zero videos so for me it's like hitting the lottery.



fleurdejoo said:


> Yes how big do they get?


Can't say from personal experience because I have no adults yet. I suspect around 3" or so.



AndrewNisip said:


> How many do you have and how many different color morphs have you experienced?
> Awesome job!  ^ ^


Thanks! I have 3 pairs and one male that mismolted in the mail. I seriously doubt I can rehabilitate him but he's a little fighter.

I've had the nymphs for a month and only through only a single molt but the colors have changed on each multiple times. When they first arrived only 2 of the males were the same color. The rest were each different. I've noticed the females especially, with their light yellows and greens, will shift between molts. The green female got a deeper green as she approached molt. I get the impression the colors will balance out at maturity but I may be wrong.


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## Precarious (Dec 15, 2012)

Tammy Wolfe said:


> Very cool species. I just love those stripes. And your mantis portraits are so amazing. It looks like you have cooperative subjects. Perhaps they want you to make them famous. You should have submitted one of these photos for the calendar... Good luck with them.


I wanted to introduce them with all the photos at once but I considered using one for the calendar. Maybe still will. Haven't officially submitted yet. I'll look these over again and see if any would work. Most are portrait format.



Rich S said:


> Henry: Outrageous pics again. This is really a great new arrival. The upper raptoral stripes remind me of the old "jailbird" attire from the Laurel and hardy films.


The stripes really do it for me. So bold! Once I saw them I had to have them. Couldn't wait to take photos.


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## Mëluzynn (Dec 15, 2012)

I'm absolutely in love, those colours are gorgeous and your pictures, Pre, are wonderful !


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## angelofdeathzz (Dec 15, 2012)

Really like the shark mouth markings on raptors! Pseudo-shark downundercous?


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## RevWillie (Dec 15, 2012)

Awesome new species and spectacular photography (as always)!


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## Mr. Hyde (Dec 16, 2012)

Precarious, I'm sure you've discussed it elsewhere, but what camera do you use? And do you have any tricks to offer for getting shots like these?


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## Precarious (Dec 16, 2012)

Mr. Hyde said:


> Precarious, I'm sure you've discussed it elsewhere, but what camera do you use? And do you have any tricks to offer for getting shots like these?


Canon T2i

EF 100mm 1:2.8 USM

MP-E 65mm

Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX

The only real trick to getting shots like this is to put the money up and get real equipment, then shoot every day until you get it right. The flash is vitally important to macro so invest in one made specifically for the job. That will allow you to shoot free hand at ISO 100, 1/200. You want to keep as many points of interest within the narrow focal plane as possible. The best way to do that is to have the freedom to constantly change angle of approach as the subject moves. Getting the right flash makes that possible. If you are tied to a tripod you really limit the possibilities.

Also REALLY helps to have good proficiency at working in RAW mode and Photoshop.

I should also point out that because macro requires manual focus you have to have good eyesight. There is no fixing bad focus and auto focus is not an option.

I use my camera every day. No joke. Taking photos is the fun part. The work comes in when preparing the final images. I spend no less than 20 minutes on each image and many times twice as long. That I do just because it's necessary. You will never get images that look like this directly off any camera, but the closer you come, by having proper lighting and framing, the easier it becomes to get the results you want.

The algorithms in the camera just guess at the best settings and they don't do well with macro because most use cameras for normal photos.

Here's an example of before and after processing...


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## brancsikia339 (Dec 16, 2012)

Precarious said:


> And I have heard they sometimes lay ooths on the ground! Now that is odd. I know some of the sand-dwelling species like Eremiaphila do this. Should be interesting to witness.


They are amazing and interesting because of how they lay ooths in the ground. That's how they earned the name "burrying mantis"!! I wonder how they hatch???

I found a site that shows a female laying a blue ooth!!! http://fanatic-mantis.xooit.fr/t2799-Sphodropoda-quinquedens.htm


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## gripen (Dec 16, 2012)

brancsikia339 said:


> They are amazing and interesting because of how they lay ooths in the ground. That's how they earned the name "burrying mantis"!! I wonder how they hatch???
> 
> I found a site that shows a female laying a blue ooth!!! http://fanatic-mantis.xooit.fr/t2799-Sphodropoda-quinquedens.htm


Many mantids lay green ooths that turn beige when they harden. It is just the hemoglobin leaching into the ooth material.


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## agent A (Dec 16, 2012)

gripen said:


> Many mantids lay green ooths that turn beige when they harden. It is just the hemoglobin leaching into the ooth material.


Why does she put hemoglobin in the foam? I thought she made the foam from urine? Im curious why this species has the latin number 5 in the name :huh:


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## Precarious (Dec 16, 2012)

brancsikia339 said:


> They are amazing and interesting because of how they lay ooths in the ground. That's how they earned the name "burrying mantis"!! I wonder how they hatch???
> 
> I found a site that shows a female laying a blue ooth!!! http://fanatic-mantis.xooit.fr/t2799-Sphodropoda-quinquedens.htm


Good find. I've seen these before. They were actually taken by someone I know and reposted here.


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## lancaster1313 (Dec 16, 2012)

agent A said:


> Why does she put hemoglobin in the foam? I thought she made the foam from urine? Im curious why this species has the latin number 5 in the name :huh:


It is probably the 5 marks on the forecoxae.


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## SilentDeviL (Dec 16, 2012)

Ya i showed my Australia Buddy this new species .. He said is from Australia and He found a contact with this species located in North Of Australia who's keeping them and few new species in Australia .. So i hope I can try them soon


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## MantidLord (Dec 16, 2012)

How are these guys doing in the wild in Australia? I'm not interested in going and catching any, just curious about the wild populations of new captive species. Beautiful species btw!


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## Malakyoma (Dec 16, 2012)

MantidLord said:


> How are these guys doing in the wild in Australia? I'm not interested in going and catching any, just curious about the wild populations of new captive species. Beautiful species btw!


Thats an interesting question. Makes me think of another: What would everyone do if a mantis common in captivity went extinct in the wild? Would you come forward and offer yours as possible re-introduction? There's so many things that would happen. You'd announce yourself as a mantis keeper, possibly drawing attention you don't want. Lets say you imported those mantids in a government-frowns-on kind of way, what then? Your specimens could mean the survival of the species, but there's a lot of risks to it too.


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## Precarious (Dec 16, 2012)

MantidLord said:


> How are these guys doing in the wild in Australia? I'm not interested in going and catching any, just curious about the wild populations of new captive species. Beautiful species btw!


Not sure who this is addressed to. I don't live in Australia or know anyone who does. Didn't get them from there anyway. These were captive bred so I'd imagine that helps wild populations as a backup plan.


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## MantidLord (Dec 16, 2012)

Precarious said:


> Not sure who this is addressed to. I don't live in Australia or know anyone who does. Didn't get them from there anyway. These were captive bred so I'd imagine that helps wild populations as a backup plan.


It was addressed towards you. Just an innocent question. I had assumed you had some contact who got them straight from the source, not captivity.


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## bobericc (Dec 16, 2012)

Wow the purple beige and blue are crazy in the last few pics

Very nice colors in this species I'd be interested in seeing the wings

Are they much different than sphodromantis?


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## Precarious (Dec 16, 2012)

MantidLord said:


> It was addressed towards you. Just an innocent question. I had assumed you had some contact who got them straight from the source, not captivity.


I can honestly say I have never owned wild collected ooths or nymphs. May have purchased nymphs hatched from wild collected ooths, as some breeders buy ooths rather than breed their own, but that's about as close as I've come. I put the "direct from down under" line just to make people aware of their country of origin.

Full disclosure everyone:

They are not _literally_ direct from down under!  



bobericc said:


> Wow the purple beige and blue are crazy in the last few pics
> 
> Very nice colors in this species I'd be interested in seeing the wings
> 
> Are they much different than sphodromantis?


Yeah, the baby blue eyes are killer.

They are completely different from any Sphodromantis. They move differently and behave differently. They are actually communal, or so I've been told. I have too few to risk it but I will try with the next generation for sure. What kind of crazy bonus would that be?!?!?! You'll see how unlike them they are once I get around to uploading some video.

I have no adults yet but you can see the wings in these photos I found online. Looks like they have some beautiful blue and yellow on the underside. I'll have to get some photos of that for sure.


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## Mime454 (Dec 17, 2012)

That blue Ootheca is so bizarre! Be sure to get some pictures of that too!


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## Mime454 (Dec 17, 2012)

Also, what is the difference between Sphodromantis and Hierodula?


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## Precarious (Dec 17, 2012)

Mime454 said:


> That blue Ootheca is so bizarre! Be sure to get some pictures of that too!


You know it!



Mime454 said:


> Also, what is the difference between Sphodromantis and Hierodula?


You're asking the wrong guy. I'm not much into either of those categories. I don't follow the technical/scientific end of things so couldn't tell you what separates them. I did like Sphodromantis viridis quite a bit and currently have Sphodromantis sp. but that's the extent of my experience with Sphodromantis, and I've only ever had a pair of Hierodula majuscula.


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## SilentDeviL (Dec 17, 2012)

Mime454 said:


> Also, what is the difference between Sphodromantis and Hierodula?


Well from my 1year experience in to Mantis .. i don't see much difference between the 2 species other then few dots on the forearm .. some have longer legs.... but the look is identical.. But I do think Sphodromantis can go longer with out water compair to Hierodula witch is a good thing ... mist less haha...


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## agent A (Dec 17, 2012)

looks like the joker from batman :lol: :batman: 



Mime454 said:


> Also, what is the difference between Sphodromantis and Hierodula?


hierodula r bigger and have more reticulation on the mid and hind legs, as well as a slightly different shaped thorax, but otherwise hierodula is an asian sphodromantis and sphodromantis is an african hierodula


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## Morpheus uk (Dec 17, 2012)

Who sells these new australian species?

Thought it was near impossible to get anything out of australia.


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## patrickfraser (Dec 17, 2012)

http://youtu.be/7dBAJB2jYkM

LOL


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## Precarious (Dec 17, 2012)

patrickfraser said:


> LOL


That was me in a wig. Ugly thought... :chris: 



Morpheus uk said:


> Who sells these new australian species?
> 
> Thought it was near impossible to get anything out of australia.


As far as I know no one is selling them. I just got lucky. :shifty: 

And I currently have 2 Australian species, the other being Archimantis latistyla (Australian Stick Mantis), so impossible is way too strong a word.

Archimantis latistyla (Australian Stick Mantis) L5

Archimantis latistyla adult female - fresh molt

ID Game - The Dragon's Third Eye


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## hierodula (Dec 17, 2012)

Well, i have noticed that most hierodula species have longer thoraxes in relation to their overall body length, while sphodromantis is generally more bulky.


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## yen_saw (Dec 22, 2012)

Sweet!! :clap: All the best Henry


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## agent A (Dec 23, 2012)

hierodula said:


> Well, i have noticed that most hierodula species have longer thoraxes in relation to their overall body length, while sphodromantis is generally more bulky.


Multispina have short thoraxes though


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## Precarious (Jan 8, 2013)

Sudadult female molt...


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## Mime454 (Jan 8, 2013)

Scary. Love the arms.


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## ShieldMantid1997 (Jan 8, 2013)

Molting to adult or to sub?

So pretty, can't wait till these are available in the US


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## Precarious (Jan 8, 2013)

ShieldMantid1997 said:


> Molting to adult or to sub?


Molt to sub.


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## sally (Jan 8, 2013)

Pretty colors


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## agent A (Jan 9, 2013)

Precarious said:


> Molt to sub.


my orchid gal did that last night!! :clap: 

stayed up till almost 11 watchin, but it was worth it i guess :blush: 

but now i'm tired :sleeping: :sleep1:


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## Rick (Jan 9, 2013)

Those are very cool.


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## Mime454 (Mar 18, 2013)

Any news on these guys? Got any adults yet?


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## Precarious (Mar 18, 2013)

Mime454 said:


> Any news on these guys? Got any adults yet?


  I'm sad to say they all made it to adult. The first female has been mated. Should have the first ooth soon.

Oh, wait... That's good news! :sorcerer: 

Will try to post updated photos as soon as I can.


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## agent A (Mar 18, 2013)

Precarious said:


> I'm sad to say they all made it to adult. The first female has been mated. Should have the first ooth soon.
> 
> Oh, wait... That's good news! :sorcerer:
> 
> Will try to post updated photos as soon as I can.


nice!! lol


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## Mime454 (Mar 18, 2013)

Precarious said:


> I'm sad to say they all made it to adult. The first female has been mated. Should have the first ooth soon.
> 
> Oh, wait... That's good news! :sorcerer:
> 
> Will try to post updated photos as soon as I can.


Yay!


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## xonxon (Mar 27, 2013)

your photo skill is so good. their eyes are so clear! also i like the purple color mantids~


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## Paradoxica (Apr 30, 2013)

What's the good word Precarious?


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## Precarious (May 3, 2013)

Paradoxica said:


> What's the good word Precarious?


3 ooths collected. Females still laying. Should have first hatch soon.


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## agent A (May 3, 2013)

Nice work! Now can u please start a caresheet for these guys?


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## Krissim Klaw (May 3, 2013)

So lovely and look at all those adorable mantis faces.


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## Precarious (May 4, 2013)

Adult female eats a Super Worm snack...


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## Krissim Klaw (May 4, 2013)

Hahaha I can't get over her lipstick. XD

I wonder what brought that color on in the species from an evolutionary standpoint.


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## ShieldMantid1997 (May 12, 2013)

More pictures!


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## jrh3 (May 12, 2013)

im digging the coloration. good luck with the species.


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## Precarious (May 12, 2013)

ShieldMantid1997 said:


> More pictures!


More when I get a chance...


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## OctoberRainne (May 12, 2013)

Why so purple? lol That one is pretty gorgeous,looks like a pretty species no doubt


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## jrh3 (May 12, 2013)

sweet seems to be alot hatched, maybe there will be a small dieoff and you can get them into culture, again good luck.


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## Precarious (May 12, 2013)

jrh3 said:


> sweet seems to be alot hatched, maybe there will be a small dieoff and you can get them into culture, again good luck.


Didn't get an accurate count but looks like around 100 or more. Next ooth should hatch pretty soon.


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## Precarious (May 12, 2013)

OctoberRainne said:


> Why so purple? lol


Purple is the new peach.


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## Bug Trader (May 12, 2013)

Really cool species, and congrats on the hatches and successes but until I have them in hand I just can't say if its the mantis or your photography I like best.

Michael


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## bobericc (May 12, 2013)

They are beautiful, purple mandibles!

How large are they finishing


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## OctoberRainne (May 12, 2013)

I like the purple,hope you will let some babies go,they seem really nice


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## Mime454 (May 14, 2013)

They're kind of ugly at L1. I won't hold that against them though. Awesome that they hatched!


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## brancsikia339 (May 14, 2013)

Awesome hatch! Thats a LOT of babies!


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## AxolotlsAreCoolToo (May 14, 2013)

Wow you really did it again this time Henry great work. The golden nymphs are truly beautiful. I wish you good luck but i know you wont be needing that


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## Digger (May 14, 2013)

Precarious said:


> Canon T2i
> 
> EF 100mm 1:2.8 USM
> 
> ...


Henry -- you are the Master. Perhaps it varies with the particular shot you're composing --- what apertures do you commonly use? Do you stop down a lot to extend FOV?

Digger


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## Precarious (May 16, 2013)

bobericc said:


> They are beautiful, purple mandibles!
> 
> How large are they finishing


Females are 3". Males are the same counting the wings.



OctoberRainne said:


> I like the purple,hope you will let some babies go,they seem really nice


Already have more nymphs than I can keep! Second ooth will put it over the top. I just hope people aren't expecting a new species to culture to sell for $5 each. I put a lot into getting these and starting the culture. I hope to spread enough around so the culture keeps going. I did that years ago with Pseudoharpax virescens but people didn't keep them going. Let's hope it goes better this time.



Mime454 said:


> They're kind of ugly at L1. I won't hold that against them though. Awesome that they hatched!


At L1 they actually look pretty similar to Oxyopsis gracilis with different leg structure. I'm really looking forward to watching them develop since I started this culture off with pre-subs.



Digger said:


> Henry -- you are the Master. Perhaps it varies with the particular shot you're composing --- what apertures do you commonly use? Do you stop down a lot to extend FOV?


Believe it or not I use pretty much the same settings for all shots, although I do adjust the flash positioning when I'm going in closer than 2x. I always shoot at ISO 100, 1/200. For the 100mm lens I shoot at f18 which gives good DoF but still crisp detail and defocused background. The 65mm tops out at f16 and looks pretty fuzzy at that setting so I bump it to f13 which is a fair compromise.


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## Precarious (Jun 8, 2013)

*L2*











*L3*


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## Scruffy Aphid Herder (Jun 9, 2013)

Precarious said:


> *L2*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hit me with a price ;]


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## Precarious (Jun 9, 2013)

Scruffy Aphid Herder said:


> Hit me with a price ;]








Still debating if I will sell publicly or just to people I can trust to keep them in culture.


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## Bug Trader (Jun 9, 2013)

Their a nice species, I think you will find atleast a few people dedicated to breeding them. Its the 3rd generation I would worry about.


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## ShieldMantid1997 (Jun 9, 2013)

Precarious said:


> Still debating if I will sell publicly or just to people I can trust to keep them in culture.


Do I fall under that umbrella?  But seriously, congrats on bringing such a magnificent species into culture.


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## Precarious (Jun 27, 2013)

I think I forgot to post some of these...

*Female*






*Male*






*Pair*


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## mantid_mike (Jun 28, 2013)

amazing shots, henry..

that orange/purple L2 nymph is awesome.


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## Mime454 (Jun 28, 2013)

I like the side of the male's wings.


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## Precarious (Jun 29, 2013)

Sphodropoda quinquedens - New Generation


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## Mëluzynn (Jun 30, 2013)

Ok... I'm in love... Can I exchange my husband for one of this beauties ? XD


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