Recent content by Velve

And some older photos.

The next M. splendidus generation is starting to grow into adulthood. A few males already molted, the first female shouldn't be far off. Since I let all the ooths hatch in the tank there's also still some earlier instars growing up in there, but they're living well together with their bigger...

I've seen my Metallyticus try to mooch off someone's meal, but they're not too thrilled about sharing. 😅

That's shopped. This is the original image, taken by Miron Karlinsky.

It's a Sibylla sp. aka cryptic mantis, and looks like a subadult female at that. These S. pretiosa care sheets give some good pointers: https://mantidkingdom.com/mantid-care/sibylla-pretiosa/ https://www.mantidsandmore.com/lexicon/sibylla-pretiosa/

I managed to film the mating initiation of a M. splendidus pair today! Even at their age, the males still went crazy as soon as they sensed a female emitting pheromones. I just wish I had noticed it a little sooner so I could have set up some lighting for better quality, but they are so quick...

I think it has a good chance, the eggs are all properly coated in the protective foam, and I believe the ooth has been laid by a young female. The old M. violaceus girl laid all her ooths flat between two cork sheets, though I still haven't gotten any additional nymphs from hers. Maybe the...

The new tank for the M. violaceus is now finished and they moved in, pretty happy with how it turned out. I'll have to tweak the M. splendidus tank soon and add some more bark around the middle area there as well. I would have liked to get a closeup shot with an adult pair and subadult in one...

Got the first M. violaceus babies! The first ooth turned out to be a dud, while the second one has given me a whopping two nymphs so far. Not sure yet if they're early hatches or if that pair just wasn't very fertile, but that scenario is why I got the second group for safety anyway. You can...

The first three M. splendidus ooths have hatched. Getting these little ones out of the adult tank takes a bit of time with how quickly they zoom around, and I keep spotting new ones. At least there's plenty of springtails and gnats to eat in there, and the adults don't seem to pose a threat, you...

Yeah. I noticed that they prefer the holes with 4mm diameter.

Just posting some new pics. The M. splendidus are all still alive and kicking. I managed to locate 6 ooths so far, 4 of which were laid inside the trunk in the middle of the tank. Their wings are starting to look worn down, not surprising given how much they run and jump through the tank all the...

Looks like Pseudempusa pinnapavonis.

They are only kept communally within their own species. I want to make another Exo Terra for the M. violaceus in the coming months since the younger group is growing nicely. Spotted the first M. splendidus ooth today, laid in a pre-drilled hole in the stump in the middle of the tank.

I haven't bothered with Idolomantis again, keeping a large fly supply going for a group of them was kind of a hassle the last time. I'd probably want to just breed bottleflies myself the next time I'm attempting Idolos. I'm content with the Theopompa and Metallyticus for now, they take up enough...