# Solygia sp (sulcatifrons?)



## Birdfly (Dec 22, 2007)

Abit over exposed


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## Christian (Dec 22, 2007)

Hi.

This genus is monotypic (contains just one species), so there is no need to put a question mark behind the specific name.

Regards,

Christian


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## Birdfly (Dec 22, 2007)

Christian said:


> Hi.This genus is monotypic (contains just one species), so there is no need to put a question mark behind the specific name.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Christian


Ok thanks, cant edit the title now


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## hibiscusmile (Dec 22, 2007)

This is a beautiful mantis, what all is it eating?


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## Birdfly (Dec 22, 2007)

hibiscusmile said:


> This is a beautiful mantis, what all is it eating?


Hi, The feeders in the pictures are two species of cockroach, the green one is _Panchlora nivea_ and the red one is commonly known as a red runner, _B lateralis_ ?

They take all other typical mantis prey insects though.


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## Kruszakus (Dec 22, 2007)

Oh man, this mantis looks huge!

Plus, it would seem that it can handle a large prey, not as some other big mantids - which is always a bit disappointing.


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## Birdfly (Dec 22, 2007)

They do get long, and from what i can make of them (i have photos of an adult, but they are not mine) are not too thin as stick/grass mimics go.

At the moment they are between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches (rarely count instars).

They have always been quite tenacious with their prey and have easily taken prey that is well above average size, occasionally. Suspending a big prey insect upside down with no grip to struggle or pull away with lends itself quite readily with this species.

I quite often see these eyeing one another up and stalking one another through the jars walls.


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## yen_saw (Dec 22, 2007)

Nice species Gary  ! the shape reminds me of the stick mantis here in the USA, although the head looks different. This is the longest species now in mantis hobby.


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## spawn (Dec 22, 2007)

I love the faux stinger on the butt end of the mantis, and how it curls it up towards you, almost to threaten you like it wants to sting you. That's my favorite thing about this species. So much personality. And I'm glad you got the threat pose in there because I couldn't get a shot of it. It's a shame it's too bright though in your picture. And yes, for a grass mimick, this species seems to pay no attention to size when grabbing prey.


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## Birdfly (Dec 22, 2007)

Cheers Yen. Yes i have seen adults from the afore mentioned photos at 14cm!! That'll do me.

I hear that _Ischnomantis gigas_ (spelling) could reach 17cm but i guess they are not in the hobby at presant  

Still at 17cm thats an extreme mantis and one i'd like to see.

Not wanting to wish there lives away but i cant wait to get these adult??

Spawn, I take it you have some of these, care to share some pictures? are they more advanced?

Im looking forward to seeing how the "faux stinger" appendage transforms into those twin feather-like extensions.?

What are they all about, pheramone dispersal, ootheca construction or purely cryptic?

:blink:


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## Christian (Dec 22, 2007)

> And yes, for a grass mimick, this species seems to pay no attention to size when grabbing prey.


This is not really a grass mantid. It is just very elongated. A stick mimic is the closest which can be applied to this species.


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## spawn (Dec 23, 2007)

I do have pictures, not much better than yours. Flash overexposed them a bit too. I'd post them, but my photobucket doesn't like this site for some reason. And speaking of I. gigas, I was actually supposed to get some from Nick Barta way back when, but he kept postponing shipment for one reason or another (delays on his supplier?) and I asked for my money back. The only picture I've seen of it is that black shadow? silhouette, so it would be interesting to see what kind of color/texture those would have. Are they a grass or stick mimick, do you know?

Christian, these are not terrestrial grass dwelling then? What country do they occur in naturally?


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## Christian (Dec 23, 2007)

_Solygia_ closely resemble _Ischnomantis._ That was the reason why the species in stock was initially determined as _Ischnomantis gigas_. While _Solygia_ is monotypic, _Ischnomantis_ contains several species distributed throughout tropical Africa. _Ischnomantis gigas_ has very probably never been in stock. It occurs in the Sahel Zone of W-Africa. I doubt that anyone could really have offered this species. The countries it lives in are rarely visited. People should learn to deal with this species first before craving for an even larger one. The amount of space needed by these guys is enormous.

There is not much known on the natural habits, but considering the size of the adults, it is very probable that they dwell among bushes when growing larger. Young larvae are obviously also found among grass. This holds for many savanna species.


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## spawn (Dec 24, 2007)

*Mods: please delete.*


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