# general orchid questions



## womantis (Nov 8, 2015)

i've read that male orchids molt 6 times to adult and females molt 7 times? is this correct? didn't see anything in the posted caresheet to verify.

can both females and males fly?


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## Ghost_Keeper (Nov 9, 2015)

Only males can fly, and yes males molt one more time.


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## Vlodek (Nov 9, 2015)

Males molt 5 times and females molt 7 times just like Parymenopus davisoni and Theopropus sp.


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## Ghost_Keeper (Nov 9, 2015)

Vlodek: Is there something wrong with my male then? He's an obvious male (brown ring and small) and has molted 4 times in my care, but I got him l2. He's is now subadult I believe. Is something wrong, or am I not counting correctly?


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## MantisMatt14 (Nov 10, 2015)

Ghost_Keeper said:


> Vlodek: Is there something wrong with my male then? He's an obvious male (brown ring and small) and has molted 4 times in my care, but I got him l2. He's is now subadult I believe. Is something wrong, or am I not counting correctly?


Nothing is wrong with your male. What he did not specify was that the molts of any species can vary depending on the individual. Sometimes females under certain conditions will skip molts and the males will have a few more or skip a an instar. It is a very interesting topic to discuss. The mantis you have could possibly be a female, the coloration on the thorax is not always 100% accurate and a definite way to sex Hymenopus. I would love to see pictures of your Orchid to see more about this.

Females can fly very well. I mean extremely good fliers with great speeds. They cannot fly when they are near laying an ooth but any other times they can fly better than most males. If the females are not that heavy, they are capable of flying great distances. It was very amazing to see such a large insect able to fly so well. Believe or not, Idolomantis diabolica females can also fly incredibly well.

-Matthew


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## Rick (Nov 10, 2015)

MantisMatt14 said:


> Females can fly very well. I mean extremely good fliers with great speeds. They cannot fly when they are near laying an ooth but any other times they can fly better than most males. If the females are not that heavy, they are capable of flying great distances. It was very amazing to see such a large insect able to fly so well. Believe or not, Idolomantis diabolica females can also fly incredibly well.
> 
> -Matthew


I've seen the same thing in Tenodera. Flying in females seems restricted to just a short time after molting as they quickly become too heavy. I wouldn't say they are better fliers than males but most mantids seem to be poor fliers overall.


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## Ghost_Keeper (Nov 10, 2015)

MantisMatt14 said:


> Nothing is wrong with your male. What he did not specify was that the molts of any species can vary depending on the individual. Sometimes females under certain conditions will skip molts and the males will have a few more or skip a an instar. It is a very interesting topic to discuss. The mantis you have could possibly be a female, the coloration on the thorax is not always 100% accurate and a definite way to sex Hymenopus. I would love to see pictures of your Orchid to see more about this.
> 
> Females can fly very well. I mean extremely good fliers with great speeds. They cannot fly when they are near laying an ooth but any other times they can fly better than most males. If the females are not that heavy, they are capable of flying great distances. It was very amazing to see such a large insect able to fly so well. Believe or not, Idolomantis diabolica females can also fly incredibly well.
> 
> -Matthew


Thank you for telling me this! I'll try to take a picture of my orchid.


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## MantisMatt14 (Nov 11, 2015)

Ghost_Keeper said:


> Thank you for telling me this! I'll try to take a picture of my orchid.


Sounds good!


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