# Metallyticus violaceus consolidated



## petoly (Oct 6, 2012)

*Metallyticus Violaceus Consolidated.*







I figured I would make one if it's okay with everyone and please add your input so we can shed some light and misinformation on this semi mysterious species.

This guide will be focusing on The Violaceus Species but some of this can be applied to the Splendidus species as well. Just know that Splendidus is much smaller so you will need much smaller food.

*Location:*

Island of Sumatra in Malaysia. There are rumors out stating that they have also been located in eastern india but those rumors haven't been confirmed

*Habitat:*

This is a bark dwelling mantis. It lives on the barks of trees and hardly if ever leaves them.

*Description:*

While less attractive looking than it's cousin Splendidus, the violaceus makes up for it in size. Being around 1 1/2 to 2 inches as an adult. This size also makes it easier to care for in a way. Coloration is very dark, almost black with purplish and/or blue metallic hues. These guys are more roach than mantis. They scurry and stay pretty parallel to the surface they are on. Definitely not slow. Be careful with tank maintenance. if you blink and one moves you might find that it jumped out of your tank and is now under something safely away from you to catch. It is no question that the physiology of this species is completely alien compared to any other mantis species. As such they behave completely differently. They ignore flying prey, and rely on scurrying prey. Instead of walking slowly and mimicking branches in the wind, these guys are little bullets. one minute they are perfectly still, the next second they are at the other side of the tank. They are also able to walk sideways like a c r a b, walk backwards, and rotate themselves 360 degrees. These are very very agile mantids.

*Cannibalism:*

almost uneard of. These guys seem to have the communialness of a roach although territorial. The babies can also live with the adults as long as the cage is well supplied with food.

*Caging:*

For a pair use at least a 8X8X12 enclosure. height is important.The cage walls MUST be lined with bark-like material or bark itself. You can also opt to make a cage out of wood and that should work farely nicely. I Prefer using cork bark tile as it is easy to cut to size, has crevices for the food to hide in, and it stimulates the mantis's natural hunting behavior. Not to mention it looks cool. Some people have also used the cork liner you use to line shelves.

For substrate you could use coconut fiber but I just lined the floor with the cork bark. Spray it enough and it maintains humidity. My preference is this because that way timid roach feeders won't burrow in the substrate. Instead they will try to hide in the cracks of the cork bark.

*Temperature:*

I keep mine at around 85F. 85-90F is a good temperature for them during the day. Night time temps can safely go down to 68F but I wouldn't do more than that.I suspect warmer temps will help induce mating.

*Humidity:*

During the day I keep them at 50%-80%. 80% at night. Sprits the cage once daily. twice or 3 times if you live in a dry hot area with the AC blasting.

*Diet:*

It seems the big misconception is that you need to have firebrats or silverfish to feed these guys. I don't believe that is necessary at all. I recommend starting some good roach colonies for them. Depending on size of specimen feed it the appropriately sized roach. Roaches I recommend are Oxyhaloa Duesta (red head roaches) these guys are climbers and don't burrow. Another good roach is the small variety of the banana roach (panchlora nivea) since the adult's bright coloration will catch the eye of the mantis. I have also had great success with the super timid Dubia roach. in fact that's what I have been primarily feeding my guys and they are always fat and plump. I can see firebrats being useful for L1 or the Metallyticus Splendidus, but I believe that the babies of the smaller roaches I mentioned above will also work well if not better. Also less chances of the feeder animal escaping the tank with roaches. Don't expect to observe them in their hunting behaviors very often if at all. These guys are nocturnal. They hardly move during the day. Make sure the tank is well stocked with roaches. I usually have around 30 in there and they last about a week if not more.

Bug_Trader feeds the adults 1/2 inch crickets on top of the roaches. They seem to like them

Tom has had success feeding subadults with fruit flies

*Sexing:*

Just count the segments like a regular mantis

*Breeding:*

Still working on that. These guys can be fussy to breed. I suspect it's because of them being communial. The male might get desensitized to the female's pheromones, since they are usually housed together. A separate enclosure and separating them for a few days should solve that problem. Most likely you will not see them breed. They will probably do it at night. With their skittishness it's also pretty unlikely that you can line them up and try to get the male to mount the female like a normal mantis.

A lot of luck is involved. I recommend increasing humidity to 90% and upping the heat. I'd like to hear your input in this section.

*Ootheca laying:*

I have observed my gravid female over a few days. I have observed that the female seems to actively search with her abdomen for an optimum spot to lay her ooth. It appears she is looking for the perfect crack or crevice in the bark for her to lay an ooth so it's farely well hidden. Barks with mediumish deep cracks Are recommended in my book, but probably not necessary. I feel this may simulate her natural environment a bit better. and the deeper cracks might stimulate her to lay an ooth, increasing chances. Cork bark did it for me.

I hope this sheds some light. Please don't rag on me if something seems wrong to you. Just let me know what you do. This is how I care for mine and they are doing just fine, so for me it works. Let's hear some other opinions =)


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## MantidLord (Oct 6, 2012)

Awesome thread. Hope others can contribute. I'm interested though, if the nymphs can live with adults, do they not consider nymphs food? They actually distinguish non mantis food from smaller (edible) mantids?


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## petoly (Oct 6, 2012)

I'm sure they would if they are hungry enough. but yeah I'm told they leave them alone. I would still separate them to be on the safe side. I personally believe these guys are the missing link of roach to mantis evolution. They have more of the behavioral actions of a roach. Roaches don't eat their young. Even the ones that would eat a live animal or other insects. I believe the metallyticus kept this trait.


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## Mime454 (Oct 6, 2012)

They really look like a roach too.


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## kotomi (Oct 6, 2012)

So cool!! B) I'm very intrigued by these guys. I thought they looked very roach-like... I find it fascinating that they have roach-like behavior, too. I wish you good luck with breeding these guys.


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## brancsikia339 (Oct 6, 2012)

Awesome! You wouldn't happen to know anyone that sells them in the US, would you?


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## Rick (Oct 6, 2012)

petoly said:


> I'm sure they would if they are hungry enough. but yeah I'm told they leave them alone. I would still separate them to be on the safe side. I personally believe these guys are the missing link of roach to mantis evolution. They have more of the behavioral actions of a roach. Roaches don't eat their young. Even the ones that would eat a live animal or other insects. I believe the metallyticus kept this trait.


I find that very interesting. I wonder where these guys are placed in the phylogeny.


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## petoly (Oct 6, 2012)

they must be placed after some kind of roach. I doubt there's any mantis activity between the roach and the metallyticus.

also some interesting literature

http://www.uni-hambu...8_The_genus.pdf

http://www.google.co...sYSTrP6SXgtAm_Q


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## brancsikia339 (Oct 6, 2012)

the chart isn't species specific  hopefully there is some data


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## Tom (Oct 7, 2012)

Interesting piece of text, thanks. I have two pairs of M. violacea. I feed them firebrats, but I coincidently found out they like buffalo worms too. In the near future I'll try to breed roaches to expand the food choice.


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## Rick (Oct 7, 2012)

petoly said:


> they must be placed after some kind of roach. I doubt there's any mantis activity between the roach and the metallyticus.
> 
> also some interesting literature
> 
> ...


Looking at a 2009 paper by Svenson and Whiting it seems the family appeared early.


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## petoly (Oct 8, 2012)

this just happened =)






hoefully my female will follow suit soon. she's fat and due for a molt.

at this point I'm contemplating putting him in a separate enclosure for possible more successful breeding. Any thoughts on this?

Interesting Rick I have no idea what to think of that honestly lol .


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## MantidLord (Oct 8, 2012)

I have no experience with these but I would separate them just in case the male gets desensitized. Awesome pics man. The cast looks like that of a roach.


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## brancsikia339 (Oct 8, 2012)

Awesome! Let me know if you breed them!!!


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## Bug Trader (Oct 8, 2012)

Ive kept mine seperate all along just for hopes that there would be a stronger breeding response. As much as I agree with you on the roach nymph feeding I keep getting messages on the importance of firebrats so Ive started using them as well. They seem to trigger a different feeding response.


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## petoly (Oct 8, 2012)

i'd like to be enlightened by the importance of firebrats. they wouldn't even find firebrats out in the wild...what kind of food would mimic firebrats in their natural habitat? the only thing I can think of really is roaches and other scurrying creatures living on bark. so why not feed it roaches? I agree that not any roach will work, but there are species of non burying roaches that work perfectly well. maybe it's a nutritious reason? maybe the firebrats have a similar nutrition to that of their natural prey in their environment? but are they really that sensitive to nutrition? according to mine, no they live just fine. I even observed a preference to roaches over firebrats with mine. if anyone has any information about the importance of firebrats please let me know so I can change the info. for now I just think they are good for lower instars, but I'm going to use fruitflies and see if they do the trick


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## aNisip (Oct 8, 2012)

For breeding, you could leave the male in there, take the female out for about a week and then introduce her back in with him, so he feels like it is his territory, sort of the opppsite method to desense-itizng males...but this could work for this roach-like specie (but whentwhen they are of breeding age) ...and my two cents about the firebrats: just like the nivea's color trigger response, maybe the firebrats' appearance triggers something...

All the best,

Andrew


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## petoly (Oct 8, 2012)

I like the concept Andrew, but if my eyes weren't deceiving me, the female seemed to be more territorial than the male. not sure. I think I will try your way though.


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## aNisip (Oct 8, 2012)

petoly said:


> I like the concept Andrew, but if my eyes weren't deceiving me, the female seemed to be more territorial than the male. not sure. I think I will try your way though.


It is just a hunch...like that is how many lizards (pet) are mated, because it gives the male a terriotry that he can calll his and then a female violaceus just 'happened' to wander into his territory  ....it is how many matings happen in the wild with territorial animals (to some degree, i kno  ) so you could always give it a shot for this territorial mantis...

All the best,

Andrew


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## brancsikia339 (Oct 13, 2012)

Is the female adult yet?


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## petoly (Oct 13, 2012)

I'm actually on the right track! I miscounted the segments on my molted "male". It's the female that molted! The male will follow suit any day now. In a week as long as the male is molted I should be able to start mating them


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## Tom (Oct 13, 2012)

Good for you!

Did you already try to feed fruitflies? I gave mine some today, and they took the flies without hesitation. Even though it wasn't night.


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## petoly (Oct 13, 2012)

no they are almost adults. they eat roaches. Im gonna do the fruitflies to the babies and see if it works.


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## petoly (Oct 13, 2012)

yeah baby! just happened!

gonna separate now and in a few weeks let the mating commence! wish me luck!


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## brancsikia339 (Oct 13, 2012)

Yay!!!!! Congratz! Put me on your waiting list!


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## Bug Trader (Oct 13, 2012)

Congrats, they look good. I tossed 1/2'' crickets into my rotation for the adults, they seem to appreciate them.


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## MantidLord (Oct 13, 2012)

brancsikia339 said:


> Yay!!!!! Congratz! Put me on your waiting list!


+1 I'm really starting to get interested in these guys. I want to personally compare their behavior to other mantids and roaches.


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## Tom (Oct 14, 2012)

Fabelous.

I fed fruitflies to sub-adults, so that also seems an option for people that don't have roaches.


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## petoly (Oct 15, 2012)

I just threw a bunch of fruit flies in with my adults. It's kind of hilarious. The male seems annoyed and just skiddishly runs around. The female threat poses continuously at them. neither are trying to eat them though.


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## Tom (Oct 16, 2012)

Funny. Maybe it's to soon after molting?

Or have they eaten something else already?


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## petoly (Oct 16, 2012)

they already ate. it's been 3 days since the last one molted.


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## brancsikia339 (Oct 20, 2012)

any updates?


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## ShieldMantid1997 (Oct 20, 2012)

Awesome stuff man


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## petoly (Oct 21, 2012)

updates =), they are chillin and waiting to be sexually mature LOL that's about it. They are eating just fine. tried to give them crickets but they didn't seem to care much for them. they are still just going for roaches. and still just dubias. I haven't fed them any other roach and they are thriving on those just fine. always nice and plump when I wake up in the morning. I even half saw the female hunt this morning but she missed it.


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## brancsikia339 (Oct 21, 2012)

petoly said:


> updates =), they are chillin and waiting to be sexually mature LOL that's about it. They are eating just fine. tried to give them crickets but they didn't seem to care much for them. they are still just going for roaches. and still just dubias. I haven't fed them any other roach and they are thriving on those just fine. always nice and plump when I wake up in the morning. I even half saw the female hunt this morning but she missed it.


Any pics?


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## aNisip (Oct 21, 2012)

They don't go after p nivea? I thought for sure their green color would attract some attention...

Nice job man!  Keep doin work!


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## petoly (Oct 21, 2012)

I'm sure they would. I'm just letting my colony get bigger. They are doing just fine with the dubias so why switch. I did put 2 adult niveas in there and they were gone the next day so they must have ate them. although p nivea is really good at escaping so I wouldn't be surprised if they got out instead.


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## aNisip (Oct 21, 2012)

Yeah, I'm personally waiting til my colony gets bigger before i start feeding out of it.... that bright green is irresistible for most carnivorous beats they probably ate them...good luck with the mating and such and keep us updated!  

All the best,

Andrew


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## petoly (Oct 30, 2012)

caught something interesting today. Looks like A territorial squabble, but it appears the male initiated it and normally he's trying to avoid such things. I'm starting to wonder if this is more of some sort of mating dance than just a squabble. It's been happening more frequently ever since exactly 2 weeks since he matured to adulthood which makes me think it coincides with him being sexually ready.


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## Mime454 (Oct 30, 2012)

Those act so weird! Nothing like other mantids!


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## petoly (Oct 30, 2012)

I know I love it! lol!

I'd like to hear from any other paired owner if they have experienced such behavior on a semi regular basis after the male has become sexually ready.


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## aNisip (Oct 30, 2012)

That is super cool! Nice job Myke! Thanks for the update, hopefully Michael can put some input bc he has some too and has hopefully witnessed something. So when the female is ready maybe she does some certain action/motion to tell him it's ok; how much longer until she's mature? About another week, right?


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## petoly (Oct 30, 2012)

well she matured first. I think she's pretty ready. her abdomen is pretty swollen too. She's bound to lay soon I think. For all I know they could have already mated at night. Or they could have not. As soon as she lays an ooth I'm going to separate them for a few days.


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## ShieldMantid1997 (Oct 30, 2012)

Looks like aggression, but then again, these have proven to have very different behaviors than the generic mantis behavioral patterns?


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## petoly (Oct 30, 2012)

I thought it was just agression too at first. But as I kept watching. It looks more like the female is trying to lead him on. Towards the end you can see that she straight up keeps her back at him. If she felt threatened I doubt she would have done that.


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## sinensispsyched (Oct 30, 2012)

That's always a good point.


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## brancsikia339 (Nov 2, 2012)

Fighting like crabs! or idolos lol


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## petoly (Nov 6, 2012)

okay so I have separated my male from the female for the last 6 days. the last couple of days my female has been doing some interesting stuff. I know she needs to lay an ooth, she's pretty plump. she's been wandering around her enclosure feeling around with her back end. At first I was like oh cool she's about to lay an ooth. Upon further inspection, I notice when she feels around, she then presses firmly with her back end on the surface for a second, moves on, feels around, presses firmly for a second, moves on etc... etc...

I'm starting to wonder if she's leaving a pheromone scent behind. thoughts on this?


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## hierodula (Nov 6, 2012)

Why not try and mate them now?


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## sinensispsyched (Nov 6, 2012)

Yeah! There's only one way to find out!


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## petoly (Nov 9, 2012)

they are back together, it's kind of hard to control their mating. these guys scurry fast, I can't just align them like a normal mantis. This is probably part of the reason they are so finicky to mate. There have been quite a few times that I thought I lost them for good with them escaping and I mean literally JUMPING out of their enclosure while I was doing maintenance. I now make sure I move the enclosure to an area clear of clutter or anything they can hide under above, around or whatever before I clean them. hopefully they mated. I'm still not sure if they have. Heck I'm still not sure if they eat since I NEVER see them hunt LOL. I know they eat since they are always fat but still. these guys are excellent hiders of their ways.

I think they did mate though. The female does need to lay and it seems like she's struggling to do so.


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## AFK (Nov 10, 2012)

petoly, you need to try _M. splendidus_ next! Hopefully, you'll be a little luckier next time!


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## petoly (Nov 12, 2012)

I ordered M splendidus. They were pretty much all DOA so I decided to focus on these guys for the time being. Because of their size they are automatically a bit easier than , splendidus.


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## aNisip (Nov 12, 2012)

Congratz on the mating! But sorry to hear about the DOA's ...  ... Wish you all the best with the ooths she lays and hope they are fertile  I am so happy for you because of your success with this speice, and keep doing work....

All the best,

Andrew


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## petoly (Nov 16, 2012)

let's play spot the ooth! I think I'm going to leave this one there LOL.

so based on this and the way the female was wiggling her butt around as if searching for something, I think it's safe to say that in nature they look for natural crevices in the bark to hide the ooth.

but how are the babies going to come out? Should I carefully take it out?


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## petoly (Nov 16, 2012)

by looking closer at the ooth, it doesn't look like she layed it flat. it looks like it might be tilted and laid on the right side of the crack meaning her rear end would have left enough of a gap between the ooth and the bark for the babies to hatch out from the top of the ooth itself, then come out from the gap that was left from the mother's rear end as she was laying it. if that makes sense.

this is really the only way I could see babies coming out of it when laid in nature like this.


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## mutrok4040 (Nov 18, 2012)

Good job mating them! good luck with the ooth too


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## petoly (Nov 18, 2012)

thanks man =). I got word that this is pretty much how they lay in the wild. I don't have to do anything, apparently the babies will come out just fine like this.


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## sinensispsyched (Nov 18, 2012)

Maybe next time you should offer beech bark as a background, since it is rough yet doesn't have those crevices.


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## Malakyoma (Nov 18, 2012)

I think they need those crevices. I remember hearing something about it.


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## MantidLord (Nov 18, 2012)

Congrats man! That's so awesome. I hope that you keep documenting these guys and shed more info on them. I'm really interested.


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## aNisip (Nov 18, 2012)

Congratz on the ooth man! That is such a intruiging place to lay an ooth...protection and camo...  Wish you nothing but success man, keep it up!  

-Andrew


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## ismart (Nov 18, 2012)

Wow! Congrats! You should deffinitely leave the ooth in the crevice.


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## petoly (Nov 18, 2012)

sinensispsyched said:


> Maybe next time you should offer beech bark as a background, since it is rough yet doesn't have those crevices.


I set it up with cork bark because I wanted those cracks. The sides of the enclosure are still cork bark but I made sure the cracks would be much shallower. this wall is the only one with straight up crevices. I just wanted to see any difference in behavior or preference. Which apparently they prefer the cracks =)

I could have build an enclosure much more simply and without shelling out as much money, heck you could just build a square wooden box and that would be perfect. I just wanted it to also look nice. As much as I love front opening tanks, I find my enclosures kind of counter intuitive for cleaning for these guys. The front opening is huge and they can sprint out any minute. They escaped around 3 times so far. every time my heart stopped. Luckily I was able to find them each time...once it was outside on the sidewalk.....don't ask. lol.

yeah I'll probably try that wood out if I build another enclosure. thanks for the input =)


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## petoly (Nov 27, 2012)

second ooth laid. This one is more hidden thant the other one lol. not much else to report. oh yeah I saw them hunt last night! but I Was unable to film it -_-


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## Malakyoma (Nov 27, 2012)

petoly said:


> second ooth laid. This one is more hidden thant the other one lol. not much else to report. oh yeah I saw them hunt last night! but I Was unable to film it -_-


Congrats. What did they hunt? Another roach? How is the first ooth doing?


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## petoly (Nov 27, 2012)

yeah I just noticed her stalk one and catch a dubia. she's super fast. the first ooth is fine I guess..it's still there lol. I spray them every day so moisturewise it should be fine.


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## petoly (Dec 1, 2012)

here's a video of the female's behavior when it comes to laying an ootheca. She's looking for a good spot

what is going on with embedding vid in this forum? does the format keep changing? I'm not doing anything different than before yet it just won't embed.


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## brancsikia339 (Dec 1, 2012)

Interesting! She kinda looks like an ichneumon wasp with her abdomen!


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## MantidLord (Dec 1, 2012)

brancsikia339 said:


> Interesting! She kinda looks like an ichneumon wasp with her abdomen!


Yeah she sure does. Great video! Really interesting species.


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## Mime454 (Dec 1, 2012)

petoly said:


> here's a video of the female's behavior when it comes to laying an ootheca. She's looking for a good spot


[medi a]


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## Malakyoma (Dec 1, 2012)

That's crazy  She just wiggled it right into the crevice.


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## petoly (Dec 25, 2012)

my first ooth hatched! they are fertile! woohooo. damn they are soooo tiny!


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## aNisip (Dec 25, 2012)

:clap: :clap: :clap: Congrats Myke!!! ^^ ....now pictures!


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## petoly (Dec 25, 2012)

as soon as I can find a good time I will post. I'm worried. the small fruit flies are too big. the babies are the same size as melanos! Even my smallest roaches are too big! I'm contemplating using mites!? Also here's some interesting info, adults have NOOOO problem hunting melano fruit flies! this is actually the first time I have seen them actively hunt. So melanos are also a good alternative for food.


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## Mime454 (Dec 25, 2012)

So how many did you get?

Congrats on breeding a species new to the culture!


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## petoly (Dec 25, 2012)

first ooth Is still hatching I believe. there's around 15 so far. 2 more ooths are incubating and the female is still laying. heck the male is also still alive and doing well. I have a feeling these guys are longer lived than your average mantis, or at least the males are. I just took a pic of the babies and a video of the male hunting. The babies look like specs so I will have to point them out with arrows lol. I will post as soon as I get back.


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## Malakyoma (Dec 25, 2012)

Yay!    Congrats myke. Maybe a local reptile store has springtails? I look forward to more updates


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## petoly (Dec 25, 2012)

I fear springtails are too big if fruit flies are too big =(. I don't really believe in using them. Even my firebrats when I had them were too big in size since my melanos are smaller to begin with


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## Mime454 (Dec 25, 2012)

Some springtails are smaller than melanogasters.


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## Malakyoma (Dec 25, 2012)

My springtails are only a little shorter but significantly thinner. Which is probably the big deal. Thinner is easier to grab


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## petoly (Dec 25, 2012)

video of the male hunting a fruit fly

[media]http://youtu.be/fSN_vwY05SE


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## aNisip (Dec 25, 2012)

Woot!  I'm so happy and excited for you Myke! You must be thrilled! I think the nymphs will take down melanos...if they are hungry enough they could probably take em down...if not then mites would be an option. ...how about freshly hatched P nivea roaches? Those are pretty small...


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## petoly (Dec 25, 2012)

yeah I'm afraid the roaches will eat the babies though if the babies run from them. I'll try them. they are just a little difficult to take out since they looove to burrow lol.

omg they are multiplying as we speak! I think I just caught the ooth as it was just starting to hatch. there's like 20 to 25 in there now.


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## Danny. (Dec 25, 2012)

Congrats dude!


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## petoly (Dec 26, 2012)

OMG HUUUGE PROBLEM! they are escaping the enclosure! I found 10 out this morning ARRRRGGG


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## aNisip (Dec 26, 2012)

Ok ok...um....do you have a net cube? Or 32oz deli? Try catching them and putting them all in there....I'm assuming they are as fast as the adults (or pretty close) ....can u put vaseline around the openings so they don't escape? Like for ants vaseline is used to deter them from escaping.... ..


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## petoly (Dec 26, 2012)

they need bark. netcube will stunt their movement. Vaseline is what I will do...aaaand applied. We will see how that goes. Nice idea Andrew thanks, I use it for roaches all the time never thought of actually using it with "pet" animals.


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## aNisip (Dec 26, 2012)

Just use a very thin 1/2" band of it...mantises do not like getting their feet stuck in anything....


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## sinensispsyched (Dec 26, 2012)

Will ingesting the vaseline harm them?


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## aNisip (Dec 26, 2012)

It shouldnt....ants are unaffected when they walk through it and then clean themsleves off..


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## agent A (Dec 26, 2012)

Im more concerned abt them getting stuck and drowning in it


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## Malakyoma (Dec 26, 2012)

agent A said:


> Im more concerned abt them getting stuck and drowning in it


If they feel one foot getting sticky they'll turn around and walk the other way. Should anyway. So they got out through the holes in the screen myke?


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## petoly (Dec 26, 2012)

not the holes of the screen, the tiny gaps between the glass front door and the glass walls. the vaseline did it. they are all enclosed now and aren't leaving any more. great idea.


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## Mime454 (Dec 26, 2012)

Can your camera macro enough to get a good picture of one? Would love to see them.


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## aNisip (Dec 26, 2012)

petoly said:


> not the holes of the screen, the tiny gaps between the glass front door and the glass walls. the vaseline did it. they are all enclosed now and aren't leaving any more. great idea.


Yay! I'm useful!  :clap:


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## petoly (Dec 26, 2012)

here you go


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## lancaster1313 (Dec 26, 2012)

Adorable!


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## petoly (Dec 26, 2012)

omg Mala I could kiss you. For some reason the word Springtails wasn't registering. I was thinking you were talking about silverfish. yeah I have springtails for days I will try that


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## lancaster1313 (Dec 26, 2012)

I was going to mention that the springtails that I find around the yard, under stones, plant pots and such, are much smaller than melanogasters.

However, your little nymphs do look like they can take down a mel if they really wanted to. Springtails will break them in and give them some confidence and variety if the parents still enjoy some mels anyway.


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## Malakyoma (Dec 26, 2012)

Aww he's so tiny... Cutest little guy ever.


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## brancsikia339 (Dec 26, 2012)

SOOOO CUTE!!!!! :wub:


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## agent A (Dec 26, 2012)

There is a springtail and isopod outbreak in my rhyparobia tank

I have isopods who start out when born abt the size of a fungus gnat

U can probably catch/culture springtails if u crush up some perlite, mix with really wet peat moss, put in a pot, sprinkle some whole perlite on top and just keep really wet and warm, u will have tons of gnats soon enough


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## petoly (Dec 26, 2012)

i have huge booming springtail colonies in 3 of my reptile thanks. I'm set but thanks =)


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