Recent content by Peekaboo

Received some Asian Flower Mantids from Yen. They arrived carefully packaged and in good health, as always. Thanks Yen!

I'm envious. I have a difficult enough time trying to find insects large enough to use as feeders in my yard. The chances of finding a mantis are slim in my area.

I'm not sure spraying a few times a week would be adequate enough. Wuwu lives in SoCal, which is typically drier than Virginia. I live in NorCal, and I have to spray 1-2 times a day for moderate humidity.

Planes also get extremely cold once up in the air. I'm not sure how well a mantis will deal with rapid and extreme temperature fluctuations.

Wow Yen .... that's a new one all right. And I have no clue what could have caused that.

Petco has served up some bad crickets frequently in the past. When you do buy from them, keep the crickets for 24 hours. If a lot of them die off within 24 hours you know you have a bad batch. From the smell you're describing, it appears to me that they ate some bad food.

A lot of your Chinese nymphs will die off for no reason during the early stages. While I don't endorse this as a permanent method of feeding, hit up a Petco and by some fruit flies. Make sure to see that their are already plenty of hatched out fruit flies crawling around in it. You may be...

My only suggestion is to make sure the enclosures have better ventilation. Although mantids need humidity, poor ventilation can cause problems with mold, fungus, and bacteria.

What's in the "pond" Rick? Turtles?

How can it work well, if you've obviously failed so many times? ~_^

You're over thinking this way too much. When I mist my mantids I just use a spray bottle. As for him freaking out, just mist him anyways. He will get over it. He will eat when he's ready. If you think he might be getting ready to molt, you may not want to leave food in there. Rarely, but...

Unfortunately Mark, you are going to have to keep at least one fly culture going at all times, in order to feed your mantids(at least in the early stages). I get mine from Ed's Fly Meat. They have some easy starter kits for new hobbyists. I don't recommend using the fly cultures from big lot...

If it's only the cloth you want, stop by a fabric store. They'll have loads of meshes ... just go to the wedding section.

I'm really sorry to hear about your nephew. Are 4-Wheelers also known as ATV's? I generally think it's a good rule of thumb for individuals to be licensed before driving any motor vehicles -- especially if they are taking them on the street. You have my sympathy.

I believe when an insect molts, it puff itself up full of air, until their exoskeleton hardens. Afterwards, they deflate, and grow into their new skin, until it's time to molt again. My best guess is that your mantis was still inflated when she looked huge, and has now deflated.