Recent content by rbird

How long is it? Californica are generally smaller than Limbata but it's hard to judge the size from the pics. My guess is S. Limbata. S. LImbata are also more plentiful and common.

Wow, just saw this thread. I live in Los Angeles and they hatched outside in cool weather? or were these diapaused inside? (My S. Limbata nymphs, diapaused outside, didn't hatch until late May from an Ooth laid late Nov.)

Sold! Stagmomantis Limbata L2 Nymphs, common name: Bordered or Arizona Mantis Eating fruit flies and each other like crazy!  I gotta thin the herd a little but only selling 5 total. Shipped USPS: overnight or 2 day shipping ONLY, using individual small deli cups, in a 3/4 foam insulated box...

Eating fruit flies and each other like crazy!   Gotta sell some to save some

Now that I think about it almost 180 days or about 6 months WITH a natural outside diapause is a long time before hatching.

And it hatched today! About 25-30 Limbata Nymphs so far:

She laid one early this morning! Still fresh and greenish hahahah... I don't know if it's fertile but maybe we'll find out in the spring?

Well I was disappointed that all my remaining S. Limbata Nymphs died and therefore my generational hopes were dashed. Not finding or having any mantids all summer. I finally got smart and put the word out to my friends to keep an eye open for Mantids before the season is over! They came through...

This species is native to your area and location. I suggest do virtually nothing and they will hatch in the Spring just like nature intends for them! (Keep the Ootheca safe; outside, no direct sunlight, predators, light misting, etc.) Here's my S. Limbata thread from; finding, identifying...

I agree, I think Limbata. I have some right now and they look a lot like yours with tan and brown coloring at L2 and L3.  Of course time will tell for sure when it matures but it's fun to try and see if we're right. 

Sold and gave away a bunch so others can enjoy (and make my life simpler!) Down to 9 nymphs at this point. With a future 2nd generation breeding season in mind I will pare them down to only females once their sex is determined. I hopefully can attract males locally again.+ I wonder what the...

Thank Sarah, That's a good post and the one I followed initially. Using insulated styrofoam cups, as hibiscusmile said, makes sense to me for a lot of reasons. The styrofoam is easy for the nymphs to hold onto; more surface area to grip, more insulation, no paper/tissue or glue strings to trap...

Only lost 50 in shipping? That's a remarkable shipping success rate Double insulated and heat/cold pack from now on! (What packing material for the cups in the box do you use?) I think my biggest mistake was shipping L1's. I asked the buyer if they were ok with shipping L1's and they didn't...

So far in my limited experience shipping Mantids, either sending or receiving w/ 2-day Priority, it seems to be about 50/50 that they survive no matter what one does? 1.) I shipped an adult Ghost (9 wks. old, free and charged shipping cost only) from warm SoCal to an also warm part of the...