# Found a mantid, need ID



## maneatingmoo (Jul 29, 2008)

I was at the edge of a field trying to catch some of the billions of grasshoppers and crickets for my plants, and I saw what I thought was a long green grasshopper. I went up to it and freaked out because it was a mantid. So my mom got a glove and a jar and it's sitting here in this jar with a twig. She was a bit rough with it and one of it's legs is missing... Will it survive? What kind of mantid is it? Is it male or female? I don't know how to put pictures on but I'll give it a try.


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## idolomantis (Jul 29, 2008)

mantis religiosa male-_-


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## The_Asa (Jul 29, 2008)

Common name is the European mantis


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 29, 2008)

Aww, I wanted a female. Oh well. Will he survive the leg being gone?


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## The_Asa (Jul 29, 2008)

He's adult so it can't grow back, but it will survive without it.


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## idolomantis (Jul 29, 2008)

can you make a pic of the wings? i am not sure if hes really adult.


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## Morpheus uk (Jul 29, 2008)

No its sub adult, so very little of not no regrowth with the final moult im afraid


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## Rob Byatt (Jul 29, 2008)

I think people need more practice at this  

It's female it it isn't adult


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 29, 2008)

How do I get the wings out to get a picture?


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## Morpheus uk (Jul 29, 2008)

You dont need to i can see as clear as day that it is a sub adult


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## Birdfly (Jul 29, 2008)

and therefore has no wings yet :blink:


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## idolomantis (Jul 29, 2008)

Rob Byatt said:


> I think people need more practice at this  It's female it it isn't adult


i count 7 segments..

but its defenetly not adukt


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## Mantis_Whisper (Jul 29, 2008)

Yeah Idolo, I was gonna say it was a female... go by the last segment, males have a very small last segment compared to the other segments, females have a bigger one.  Pretty sure you know that though.

Dif a subadult, you have a bit more time before she sheds into an adult though.


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## idolomantis (Jul 29, 2008)

well we will see it when its adult


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## Birdfly (Jul 29, 2008)

We can see now, 100% female


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## idolomantis (Jul 29, 2008)

&lt;_&lt;


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## Morpheus uk (Jul 29, 2008)

Ta dar


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 29, 2008)

I found another one, this one's smaller and has all of it's legs. My parents think the other one is a male because it's leg was missing and they think the female eats the male. So they think this must be the female since it was near the other one. Is it ok to put it in with the other one?


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## MantidLord (Jul 29, 2008)

Oh God no!!! Even if you stuffed both with food, they'll still fight and kill each other :blink: . Keep them seperate and post a pic of the new mantis so we can id it. The first mants is a female. It has nothing to do with the leg. B)


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## Rick (Jul 29, 2008)

That is a female people. See how large the last segment is? Also it is not adult.


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## The_Asa (Jul 29, 2008)

Morpheus uk said:


> Ta dar


 :lol: I see now, I thought the ridges on the abdomen were part of the mantis wing


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 29, 2008)

This other one is smaller and a bit brighter green. I'm almost positive that it's the same species. I think it's female too. Also, can a coffee filter let enough air through for it to breathe?


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 29, 2008)

Oh and will they make oothecas, or do I have to catch a male? I can't put the picture up for some reason so I'll try a link

one of these links should work

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk154/m...enMantis007.jpg


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## The_Asa (Jul 29, 2008)

You'll have to get a male in order for it to be able to lay fertile oothecae.


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## mantidsandgeckos (Jul 30, 2008)

maneatingmoo said:


> I found another one, this one's smaller and has all of it's legs. My parents think the other one is a male because it's leg was missing and they think the female eats the male. So they think this must be the female since it was near the other one. Is it ok to put it in with the other one?


mantids only mate when they are adult, this one does not have wings yet so it is not adult.The female mantis will not always eat a male.


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## Birdfly (Jul 30, 2008)

> Is it ok to put it in with the other one?


Dont put them together, they will kill one another.


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 30, 2008)

I put a fly in with the new one yesterday and today I can't find it. There are a few little blackish brown things on the bottom of the container. How do I know if the mantid ate the fly or just tore it up?


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## Morpheus uk (Jul 30, 2008)

It wouldnt of tore it up just for the heck of it, it probaly ate it and lefts bits of fly gib on the floor, or they could be little mantis pooz lol


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 30, 2008)

If they make oothecas and they hatch, would the baby's attack/eat eachother? Or would they know that they were family and get along?


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## Meiji (Jul 30, 2008)

maneatingmoo said:


> If they make oothecas and they hatch, would the baby's attack/eat eachother? Or would they know that they were family and get along?


They definately eat their own brothers and sisters...usually not when first born but certainly after a couple moults.


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## MantidLord (Jul 30, 2008)

When they first hatch, their focus is shelter *then* food.

Could you imagine nymphs waiting for their siblings to hatch, then grabbing them. :blink: lol


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 30, 2008)

That would be scary. The big one ate two moths out of my hand today and happily ate them all, but the smaller one won't take any food and runs away from it. Is something wrong with it? And the one in that picture I recently posted, is that a female? That's the one that isn't eating. And do mantids like to explore alot? Because somehow whenever I put a fly or moth in one side of the tank it always gets past the divider into the other side. So should I just get a new top cover or something?


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 31, 2008)

I looked at the smaller mantid this morning and it's shedding it's skin right now. That must have been the reason it wasn't eating, right? It's almost done now and it's much bigger than it was before. Should I feed it something when it's done or does its skin need to harden?


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## The_Asa (Jul 31, 2008)

You are correct, it wasn't eating because it was about to molt. Give it 24 hours for the skin to harden before feeding it.


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 31, 2008)

I just went away for about an hour or two and came back and the skin is in the same place. It's almost all the way off, it's just at the end of the abdomen. Is there any way I could help it? Like misting it or gently pulling it off?


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## The_Asa (Jul 31, 2008)

I would mist lightly.


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## Meiji (Jul 31, 2008)

maneatingmoo said:


> I just went away for about an hour or two and came back and the skin is in the same place. It's almost all the way off, it's just at the end of the abdomen. Is there any way I could help it? Like misting it or gently pulling it off?


Then it should be fine. It will either detach when the mantis deficates, when the mantis chews it off, or when the mantis moults again. In my experience it's more common to have a leg or two stuck in the cast off skin and that impairs the insects' mobility and hunting ability.


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## Hypoponera (Jul 31, 2008)

Probably too late to help. Was the mantid hanging by the tip of it's abdomen with the tip still in the old skin? If so, that is normal. When a mantid is molting, the best thing is to leave it alone. Don't mist. Don't touch! It is very easily damaged or knocked down. Neither is good! Misting is something to be done before the molt starts.


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## maneatingmoo (Jul 31, 2008)

Oops, I misted it some. Yeah, it's standing on the screen cieling with the dried brown skin hanging from the tip of the abdomen. It's still like that. I know it's alive because it's abdomen is moving up and down.


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## MantidLord (Jul 31, 2008)

Does it have a full set of wings?


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## MantidLord (Jul 31, 2008)

Like someone said, once it is dried, it will just chew the dead "skin" off. I wouldnt pull it off, because it could mess up its reproductive parts :blink: .


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## Precious (Aug 1, 2008)

I rarely find mantids in the wild, especially nymphs. What about the wings?


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## maneatingmoo (Aug 1, 2008)

I don't think it has wings yet.


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