# is my nymph alright?



## MANTi (Jul 13, 2012)

i recently found a mantis in my plant, hanging off a leaf.

i was surprised because, we've had two bad thunderstorms with heavy rain, a few days before i found him.

he seems to have molted before already? not so sure, i've never seen it happen...

he's a little over an inch, green &amp; very friendly (non-aggressive).

aside from that, he's been good until i started to notice black dots/spots on his two front arms (four on each arm).

he also has one little dot on the right side below his head (his neck? i guess), he doesn't have it on the left side though.

i have also found little brown liquid spots (doesn't stink &amp; not sticky) on the side of the enclosure, twice.

i have a lot of crickets and flies around the side of my house.

he's been with me for six days now &amp; so far he's eaten two crickets, along with three &amp; a half flies.

two crickets &amp; two flies, in one day. half a fly the next day &amp; nothing for three to four days.. just today, he's eaten a fly.

i mist the enclosure once a day &amp; take him out to crawl on my hand a bit, even let him explore the pepper plants i have, everyday.

i'm just curious about the black dots/spots &amp; brown liquid, also, his weird eating schedule..

anyone have an idea or opinions &amp; thoughts?

it would be greatly appreciated!


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## MANTi (Jul 13, 2012)

here is a picture of him...


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## mkayum (Jul 13, 2012)

He should be fine as long he still eats. Maybe you're feeding him to much lol cause he look bit plumped.

I'm not sure about the spots... maybe its his natural color...

overall he look just fine. c:


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## Rick (Jul 13, 2012)

Looks like a Stagmomantis sp. male. Looks fine.


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## happy1892 (Jul 13, 2012)

MANTi said:


> i recently found a mantis in my plant, hanging off a leaf.
> 
> i was surprised because, we've had two bad thunderstorms with heavy rain, a few days before i found him.
> 
> ...


I do not think bad thunderstorms with heavy rain would hurt the mantids in the wild much. That neck like thingy is called a thorax. It is more like I chest I think. He is throwing up. The crickets probably have some stuff that are toxic to the mantis. Flies do not seem to do that to mantids much. He look good. I believe he is Stagmomantis carolina.


Rick said:


> Looks like a Stagmomantis sp. male. Looks fine.


+1.


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## MANTi (Jul 14, 2012)

thanks for the replies! i'm relieved. i guess, i'm just worrying too much about him.


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## happy1892 (Jul 14, 2012)

Oh, and the female Stagmomantis carolina I found that looks just like yours has a black spot like that on each of her elbow like places. I think it is part of the mantis.


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## MandellaMandy123 (Jul 14, 2012)

Definitely looks like a carolina. You're just a protective parent


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## MANTi (Jul 15, 2012)

happy1892 said:


> Oh, and the female Stagmomantis carolina I found that looks just like yours has a black spot like that on each of her elbow like places. I think it is part of the mantis.


thanks! i was worried.. i thought it wasn't normal... lol.



WolfPuppy said:


> Definitely looks like a carolina. You're just a protective parent


ahahahah! i know! it's a good thing though.


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## mantisboy (Jul 15, 2012)

If you can, I would back off the crickets and stay with 2-3 flies a day. In a few days to a week he will not be interested in food as he prepares to molt. If you toss in a fly and he completely ignores it for 24 hours, remove the fly and wait.

How are you housing the little fella?


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## MANTi (Jul 16, 2012)

idahomantid said:


> If you can, I would back off the crickets and stay with 2-3 flies a day. In a few days to a week he will not be interested in food as he prepares to molt. If you toss in a fly and he completely ignores it for 24 hours, remove the fly and wait.
> 
> How are you housing the little fella?


yeah, that's the last time i feed him/her crickets. they're just all over my steps &amp; readily available, flies are harder to catch; sometimes.

i'm housing him/her in a plastic container. i'm not sure what it was before, i just found it in storage &amp; it was cool because it opens &amp; closes..

i just had to drill some holes at the top. added soil, rocks, random weeds &amp; sticks.. at first, i was using a plastic cup with the lid.






on another note, he/she looks pale green &amp; the abdomen throbs. it usually stays at the top of the enclosure on the stick or ceiling...

but, today he/she is on one of the lower leaves i have in there &amp; is facing down. from what i know, he/she has been like that all day today.

yesterday (last night) i gave him/her a flightless fruit fly &amp; he/she ate it, no problem. i haven't tried feeding today, i don't want to interrupt anything.

should i try to feed a fly? do you think it's going to molt soon?? any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated! thanks, in advance.


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## ismart (Jul 16, 2012)

I would leave him be. Looks like he is going molt. Mist the inclousure a few times a day to keep the humidity up.


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## MANTi (Jul 16, 2012)

^ alright, sounds like a plan. thanks for the feedback!


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## mantisboy (Jul 16, 2012)

I don't wish to be contentious or offend anybody, just sharing my opinion but it looks like he isn't quite ready. I say that because he is moving around the housing which generally means feeding mode. Tossing a few FFs won't harm him or mess him up should he molt. Hanging upside down on the lid, twitching, or the tip of his abdomen pulsating is normal molt or no molt.

At some point he will take up a position for his molt, his posture will be somewhat like the top picture and he will remain motionless. You may see him stretch out his coxae (front arms) from time to time. But he will return to the classic praying position with his coxae together and close to his face. He will adjust his back 4 legs so they are symmetrical and he will lean his head back. He won't care about feeding for a period of 1-3 days, he won't even look at a feeder. If your lucky you will see body start to undulate, his antennae will get very active and he will start to molt.

It's very important no matter what happens to not interrupt his molt. He may seem like he is too low on the branch or maybe possibly stuck, just let him be. After the molt he won't feed for 24 hours and he will be all swollen up...it's pretty cool as his size will greatly increase. But after 24 hours he will shrink a little bit as his exoskeleton hardens.

Your housing substrate looks pretty moist and the trimming you put in for him are still green so if you are going to mist, mist just a little. Too much or too little is not good.

Hope you get to see the molt.......it's pretty cool.


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## MANTi (Jul 16, 2012)

HE/SHE MOLTED WITHOUT ME! i wanted to see this happen, LIVE!! sucks, i couldn't.

apparently, while i was taking a little nap.. he/she decided to molt! i slept for about 3 hours...






when can i pick him/her up again?


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## MANTi (Jul 16, 2012)




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## happy1892 (Jul 17, 2012)

MANTi said:


> HE/SHE MOLTED WITHOUT ME! i wanted to see this happen, LIVE!! sucks, i couldn't.
> 
> apparently, while i was taking a little nap.. he/she decided to molt! i slept for about 3 hours...
> 
> ...


Good! You can pick her up now. He will probably more clumsy than he will be in a few more days. I often pick them up right after molting usually to move them but I am not sure if that is alright.


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