How to determine gender for L3/L4 Idolomantis diabolica

I apologize for not posting this sooner as there are quite a few members been asking me the same question. I have the same problem sexing younger stage Idolomantis too so I decided to put some time observing the differences between male and female. After confirming the finding with a friend I think the appearance is quite consistent.

Lets start with male. At L3, there is a small protruding pointy 'spike' sticking out from the 6th segment. From the side view below (see circle on pic) you can see the additional spike.



For female, that spike is non-existence.



The additional spike can actually be seen as early as L2 for Idolomantis male, but probably need a magnifying glass to spot it.

Now from top view. At L3, there is a 'V' notch for the female on 6th segment (See circle)



As for male, there is no notch, but a small extended lobe instead (See circle), although not very obvious from top view.



Hope this help everyone in sexing Idolomantis.

Now lets get a little practice here and see if you can sex the Idolomantis correctly at younger stage. (Scrolll down for answer)

A



B



C



D



A,C - Male

B,D - Female

Easy right?

I thought a was the only male lol

Yen, in blephs the female's last spike is large and the rest of the end of the abdomen is smooth, the males have a lobe that breaks up the end of the abdomen (I'll post pics if need be)

Does this apply to idolos as well???

agent A said:

I thought a was the only male lol

Yen, in blephs the female's last spike is large and the rest of the end of the abdomen is smooth, the males have a lobe that breaks up the end of the abdomen (I'll post pics if need be)

Does this apply to idolos as well???

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Well C is also a male.... see the additional spike in circle

Well your observation might apply to Idolo as well i didn't check on that one. Did you see that difference when your blephs were at L3?

That's easy. From early instars, I use a loupe and look for notch or no notch.

Sweet! 4 out of 4 correct. Im gonna go see what I have.

Thanks Yen for posting this, and I had them all correct! Maybe I can use my camera macro to see this since I lack a magnifying glass.

Pimp

1+1 might have been a little harder, nice yen and thanks for the info, actualy helps me sex some of mine, now lets see if i do it right

Amazing!

Yen comes through AGAIN! :clap:

Where would we be without this guy???

And nice photos too.

Thank you so much for this info and excellent clear pics!!

Precarious said:

Yen comes through AGAIN! :clap:

Where would we be without this guy???

And nice photos too.

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I'd probably have a lot less mantids. :lol:

I pinned this. Thanks Yen.

yen_saw said:

Well C is also a male.... see the additional spike in circle

Well your observation might apply to Idolo as well i didn't check on that one. Did you see that difference when your blephs were at L3?

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Yes but I find I have better accuracy with blephies at L4 since they r a bit bigger

I'll start a topic on it

thanks Yen. you did a fantastic job with your pictures. keep up the great work.

since I was already going to split up some of your Idolos today into 2 exoteras from the net cage they are in, NOW I'll probably just transfer the females and keep the males in the net cage for another molt.

WHY? well my net cage doesn't have any extra heat from a light bulb. the temps in my bedroom (aka:bug room) can be between 78F-84F durring the day, and 74F-78F at night. temps might be a bit low in the room, but my guys are eating well and don't seem to be effected.

the males growth should be a bit slower as compared to the girls in an exoterra with a 40W or 60W bulb.

I'll still move my males to an exoterra in a week (or slightly less). I may also move them back to a net cage after molting for a week or so, again to help slow the males groth down.

what is so great about us silly people who can now sex their Idlos sooner is the fact that you now don't have to start slowing down the males at L6 or above. as this can sometimes weaken them before they molt.

in other words, we can now slow down the growth of the males even slower and safer. I like that.

Harry

oh and Yen, you did such a great job that the death threats should now stop. have a great day.

Very nice yen! I was only able to notice those things at L5. Unfortunately now I have a long day trying to sex my young idolos ahead of me. sigh.

gripen said:

Very nice yen! I was only able to notice those things at L5. Unfortunately now I have a long day trying to sex my young idolos ahead of me. sigh.

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I'll help u

agent A said:

I'll help u

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Darn you and your friendly offers

gripen said:

Darn you and your friendly offers

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Just post or pm me good pics of the side of the abdomen gripen buddy