# Dane’s Mantids



## River Dane (Oct 6, 2018)

Figured I’d finally make one of these, and I’m glad to say it’ll be my 600th post. I certainly don’t have very many mantids, but perhaps they’re still worth sharing.

Firstly, here’s my beloved Dana, S. limbata, I believe. Since I haven’t had success breeding and I’ve only hatched a Chinese ooth (the resulting nymphs I did not keep) I had never raised a mantis from L1 before. But Dana was found when she was fresh into the world, and now she’s all grown up, after 8 molts.

Eating hydei at L1 (May 16th):







Right before her final molt (noticed how swelled her wing buds were):






a few days after her final molt:






Better shot of her wings:






I’ll get better pics of her outside later, but it’s been overcast these last few days.

As for my truncatas, they’re now both L4, and I believe they are male and female based on the fact that one has a wider hood than the other.

I don’t have any recent pics of the male since he molted only a couple days ago, but here’s the supposed female:






Like I said, my current mantis desk is quite empty this year, but hopefully that’ll change real soon.


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## Synapze (Oct 6, 2018)

Beautiful truncata. ?


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 6, 2018)

@River Dane It is great to see your mantids! They are beautiful. 

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (Oct 7, 2018)

Dana is a beautiful mantis. It is cool te see a mantis growing up till adulthood and earn their wings.

 Your truncata is beautful too


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## River Dane (Oct 7, 2018)

Thanks everyone! I like them all as well.

And thanks @Little Mantis! I’m so proud of her.

Here’s the promised pic of the male:


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## Prayingmantisqueen (Oct 7, 2018)

Nice! They are so pretty!

My Giant Asian nymph just reached L5 (they are growing up soo fast ? but ?) !!

He also tackled and ate a beemoth by himself...! They are unbelievable sometimes.


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## Mantis Lady (Oct 8, 2018)

The male looks cute too


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 8, 2018)

Aww, your little male is adorable! He looks curious.

- MantisGirl13


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## River Dane (Oct 17, 2018)

So I got two new Mantids this week.

One is a male S. limbata, which was perfect timing, because Dana has now been an adult for two weeks. He’s very skittish, so I’ve only got this photo. Will try for better ones later.






Also ordered a new mantis, which arrived today. I’m completely obsessed. This is my first time with an orchid mantis, and I’ve been waiting ages to see one in person! I’ll get better pics tomorrow. It’s either L3/4 according to the seller, so it might be sexable already or by it’s next molt.


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## ausar318 (Oct 17, 2018)

Nice photos! Trust me, you will really enjoy the orchid. They aren’t as hard to care for as their caresheets imply. They are fun, however.


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 17, 2018)

Wow! Pretty orchid! I want some of those soon. Your S. limbata is adorable! 

- MantisGirl13


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## Graceface (Oct 18, 2018)

Love the new additions ❤ Orchids are my favorite currently! You will definitely have fun with them. I absolutely love mine!


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## Mantis Lady (Oct 18, 2018)

you have 2 beautiful mantids there.


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## River Dane (Oct 18, 2018)

Thanks everyone! And thanks @Graceface and @ausar318, glad to know orchids really are as wonderful to keep as I hoped!

Unfortunately, I found the male S. limbata lethargic and slow on the floor of his habitat. Since he was on the brink of death, I tried to pair him up with my female immediately. He was too old and uninterested, and is now nothing more than legs and wings. Very disappointed with the outcome of the breeding attempt. But supposedly the males should still be around in the wild, so I’ll look for more suitors! Otherwise, I’ll be posting an ad for males.


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## Mantis Lady (Oct 19, 2018)

Sorry for your loss. I hope you will find another male to try breeding again..


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 19, 2018)

I'm sorry for your loss. He was adorable! I hope you can find another one soon!

- MantisGirl13


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## Graceface (Oct 19, 2018)

Sorry to hear about your male, that's too bad ? Good luck on the hunt to find another mate!


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## River Dane (Nov 2, 2018)

So here’s a little update:

Still no new male for the S. limbata, but I’ll be leaving the female outside again overnight in hopes she might call one in. 

Both truncatas have molted, but I’m still unsure if they’re both male or a breeding pair. They look like M/F based on hood shape, but seem to be both males based on abdominal segments. If anyone has more experience sexing truncatas, let me know!

Supposed Female (with her exuviae):






Male (with his exuviae): Now this little miracle was actually in an 8oz temporary quarantine container when he molted. I was not expecting him to molt, and only had him in there for a few days. I have no idea how he survived the molt, but he hasn’t got any injuries and is doing great. I can’t believe my luck with him.






Better pic of him:






The orchid mantis is a bit of a mystery. I haven’t found her exoskeleton, but she looks slightly larger than before, and her sex has become much more obvious. The color on her “collar” is a much brighter green. She is a much more aggressive hunter than my other nymphs, so it’s not impossible that she ate her own exuviae.






Definitely female:






I believe she is preparing for another(?) molt, she’s been very skittish in her recent handlings.


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## Cole 78 (Dec 22, 2018)

Nice DOF in the pic you took (



)

What settings did you use?? @River Dane


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## River Dane (Dec 24, 2018)

Thanks @Cole 78! I can’t see what image you’re referring to, though.


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## Cole 78 (Dec 24, 2018)

River Dane said:


> Thanks everyone! I like them all as well.
> 
> And thanks @Little Mantis! I’m so proud of her.
> 
> Here’s the promised pic of the male:


This one.


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## Graceface (Dec 24, 2018)

How's your Orchid girl doing?


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## River Dane (Dec 25, 2018)

@Cole 78 The camera was a Nikon D40 with a macro lens attachment. I believe it was set on Auto and the lens was 2X macro. Sorry, I’m not too familiar of the mechanics of DSLRs yet.

@Graceface Unfortunately I have pretty grim update. The male limbata was eaten by his mate, who also passed away a few weeks ago. As for the orchid female, she began refusing food and died as a result. But the truncatas are doing well, and I’m probably going to repopulate my home with mantids again soon. I’m definitely going to try orchids again, though! She was an amazing sight, and was much easier to raise than I thought she would be up until her death.


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## Graceface (Dec 25, 2018)

Sorry to hear about your Orchid! They are beautiful and very fun to own


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## Mantis Lady (Dec 28, 2018)

River Dane said:


> The male limbata was eaten by his mate, who also passed away a few weeks ago. As for the orchid female, she began refusing food and died as a result.


Sad to read this. Sorry for your losses.  



River Dane said:


> I’m probably going to repopulate my home with mantids again soon.


You will miss them. I bought new ones after all mine died of the sickness. I missed having mantids to care for.


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## MantisGirl13 (Dec 31, 2018)

River Dane said:


> @Cole 78 The camera was a Nikon D40 with a macro lens attachment. I believe it was set on Auto and the lens was 2X macro. Sorry, I’m not too familiar of the mechanics of DSLRs yet.
> 
> @Graceface Unfortunately I have pretty grim update. The male limbata was eaten by his mate, who also passed away a few weeks ago. As for the orchid female, she began refusing food and died as a result. But the truncatas are doing well, and I’m probably going to repopulate my home with mantids again soon. I’m definitely going to try orchids again, though! She was an amazing sight, and was much easier to raise than I thought she would be up until her death.


I am sorry that you lost the limbatas and the orchid! 

- MantisGirl13


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