# Orchid Mantis: My first mantis! :D



## Synn (Jan 11, 2009)

No idea if this is a girl or a guy, and I'm not even certain how old it is, but when I stopped by the East Bay Vivarium expecting to just see some snakes and saw this one little Orchid Mantis sitting there as if waiting for me, I HAD to take him home. I just took a quick pic before I misted his enclosure and now I'll let him get used to his new home.  They guy said he GUESSED it was L3 but god only knows. He/She is absolutely tiny! Sorry for the bad pic, my digital blurs everything if I don't use flash, but also bleaches everything with it's flash. Can anyone guess age/sex?


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## Peter Clausen (Jan 11, 2009)

If you can take a photo from an angle from the backside of the abdomen, we can probably provide a better guess as to sex. Or, just count...6 abdominal segments female vs. 8 for male (when viewed from the underside).

Hard to really see for the reasons you described, but if those are wing-buds at the side, then you probably have a male.

Appears older than L3, offhand.


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## revmdn (Jan 11, 2009)

I just got three of them on Tuesday, and they are a little hard to sex. They are so small, and their white coloring doesn't make it any easier. But they are fun. Mine tend to hop around a lot.


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## idolomantis (Jan 11, 2009)

There's only one good diffrence: females grow twice as long, if any of them is longe than 1,2 inches and has short wingbuds it's a female.

if one is about an inch with very large wing buds it's a male.

males also has a more reddish color.


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 12, 2009)

:lol: lets see its little butt! I am thinking from what I see it is a girly! humm, on second count a boy, show its butt. No body look!


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## bassist (Jan 12, 2009)

whaaaaaaaat they told me they wouldn't have any till spring lol.

They lied to me D:


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## yeatzee (Jan 12, 2009)

I count 6 segments making it a female......am i the only one that can see the segments?


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## bassist (Jan 12, 2009)

yeatzee said:


> I count 6 segments making it a female......am i the only one that can see the segments?


Can't always tell when it's not the bottom, I can see the segments but it's best to see the bottom of the abdomen.


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## Synn (Jan 12, 2009)

I count 6 segments, so female? Here's a few pics to see what you guys think, also one showing how small he/she is so you guys can maybe better guess age?


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## bassist (Jan 12, 2009)

wait last segment is small lol male.


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## pedro92 (Jan 13, 2009)

Orchids were so hard to sex for me when i had them. i always was changing my mind


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 13, 2009)

Boy! no doubt.


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## Synn (Jan 13, 2009)

Thanks guys!


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## Dinora (Jan 14, 2009)

Good choice! My first mantis is an Orchid, too!

I really need to get a camera soon, I wanna know gender, too!


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## yeatzee (Jan 14, 2009)

Yeah ur right.....its a boy. The second to last pic you can see the last small segments.


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