# Oxyothespis dumonti fresh nymphs! (North African Grass Mantis)



## Precarious (Jan 3, 2012)

One of my 3 ooths hatched 7 nymphs yesterday. Then a straggler dropped out a few minutes ago.

They are pretty tiny so I had to use my extension tubes to get the super close ups. That means these aren't my best pics, and shows why I need the Canon MP-E 65mm lens! If anyone wants to buy it for me I will give you some free mantids. It's only $950. :blink: 

Here they are soon after hatch...


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## Precarious (Jan 3, 2012)

And this is what they look like the next day.

Size reference...






They are very jumpy with their little grasshopper-like rear legs.


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## Precarious (Jan 3, 2012)

I transfered them to a new home with springtails but also added melanogaster fruit flies.

One was brave enough to grab one!


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## SilentDeviL (Jan 3, 2012)

Wow Nice Pic's cool look Mantis Keep this updated waiting to see more .


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## twolfe (Jan 3, 2012)

Nice! And that's a cool looking mantis. That fly looks so big compared to the mantis, and I know how tiny those flies actually are.

Is that your finger? If so, your fingernail is cleaner than mine right now.


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## dlemmings (Jan 4, 2012)

very nice pics, I am always trying to get good close ups of my gals &amp; guys...thanks for posting


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## lunarstorm (Jan 4, 2012)

Awesome, glad you didn't have duds! I especially liked the size reference shot, amazing that one *did* eat a d. mel.!


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## rs4guy (Jan 4, 2012)

Great shots as always!


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## myzticalboi (Jan 4, 2012)

Nice looking mantis right there. Great pictures!


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## bobericc (Jan 4, 2012)

i like the eyes!


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## Precarious (Jan 4, 2012)

Thanks everyone!



bobericc said:


> i like the eyes!


Yeah, that's what got me. That's why I wanted them. Will be fun to watch them grow up.


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## Idolofreak (Jan 4, 2012)

Congrats and good luck with them!


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## meaganelise9 (Jan 4, 2012)

Yay! I knew they'd hatch. Thanks for posting these. It's so much more than I can see with the naked eye (and my eyes aren't good). They'll stop being so jumpy in a week or so.


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## Precarious (Jan 4, 2012)

Tammy Wolfe said:


> Is that your finger? If so, your fingernail is cleaner than mine right now.


That's actually my little toe. I have to use both hands for the camera so I put the nymph on my toe and lean in. I have unnaturally long toes so I use them a lot for holding mantids and other stuff like pealing bananas and brushing my teeth.

Just kidding.  

Yeah, that's my index finger. I take a fair amount of photos and videos with my hands in them. I don't want to look all grubby so I try to keep them clean. Plus I hate to get my hands dirty. I'm not a germaphobe or anything (bring it on, germs!) but I wash my hands often.


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## yen_saw (Jan 4, 2012)

Very nice close up Henry, thanks for sharing!


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## Chivalry (Jan 5, 2012)

Oh my gosh... for some reason the fingernail pic didn't impress their tininess upon me as much as the fruit fly pics. WOW.


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## Precarious (Jan 11, 2012)

More hatch photos...


























And some (grainy) pics from 5 days later, eating a small melanogaster fruit fly...


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## frogparty (Jan 11, 2012)

THE LAST PIC MAKES IT LOOK LIKE THE LITTLE FELLA IS LICKING ITS LIPS!!


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## Mvalenz (Jan 11, 2012)

These mantids look really cool. Great pics.


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## ismart (Jan 12, 2012)

Fantastic pics! Have any molted to L2 yet?


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## Precarious (Jan 12, 2012)

ismart said:


> Fantastic pics! Have any molted to L2 yet?


Not yet. I'm looking forward to seeing them grow!


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## dlemmings (Jan 14, 2012)

more great pics! thanks


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## LLCoolJew (Jan 14, 2012)

Oh, Wow! These are simply SPECTACULAR, Precarious. You've really outdone yourself!!!!


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## Precarious (Jan 19, 2012)

A few pics of the L2 using the new lens. Still learning my way around it.


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## lunarstorm (Jan 19, 2012)

Awesome! Any plans to test image stacking with the new gear?


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## agent A (Jan 19, 2012)

Very nice pics

I may send u a dead mantis so u can do your photography magic on it


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## agent A (Jan 19, 2012)

lunarstorm said:


> Awesome! Any plans to test image stacking with the new gear?


Image stacking is hard! Whenever I try to get many pics of 1 thing from different focal points it moves and screws everything up


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## Precarious (Jan 19, 2012)

lunarstorm said:


> Awesome! Any plans to test image stacking with the new gear?


I stack pretty regularly. Usually only 2 or 3 images manually in Photoshop.

Example: 3 images of a Heterochaeta sp. sub molt:






I've never done any deep stacks because I shoot freehand and you really need to use a tripod and focusing rail to do more than that. I was considering buying StackShot for a minute there but I've found tripods very limiting and clunky. I can take 10 great freehand shots in the time it would take to set up a single tripod shot. Plus freehand allows me to change the angle as needed, which is vital when working with insects that move a lot. Another thing that turned me off is that most of the deep stacks of 50 or more images are of dead insects. Really no other option when you need a still subject, unless you get up at 5 am when they're still asleep in the cold.

I've put the time into getting more of my subject in focus in a single shot by learning to adjust my angle, so I stack much less than I used to. It's a lot less work too.

Example: single image of a Heterochaeta sp. sub male:






I couldn't get at this nymphs head-on and that limited my success. You have to get really close with the MP-E 65 and that will take a little getting used to. These images came out too dark. Getting my flash set properly will take a little experimentation too. These are just the first few I took with the new lens so I've got some learning to do.  



agent A said:


> Very nice pics
> 
> I may send u a dead mantis so u can do your photography magic on it


Would totally depend on the species whether it would be worth the trouble. I have plenty of shots of living specimens so it would have to be something I could get alive.


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## sporeworld (Jan 19, 2012)

I missed this tr=hread early, but WOW!~

Those ooths are amazing - kinda like individual pupa's loosely stuck together. Great work!


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## Precarious (Jan 27, 2012)

Pics of adult female here:

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=24067


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## memyself_and_i (Jan 28, 2012)

wow they are amazing i really want this species


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