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My females have flicked a clear substance. I didn't look at in under a microscope, but it seemed to correlate to their calling for a male. I actually thought it may be pheromones. But this has happened several times and I am curious as to what this is. My healthiest female mantid did it...

Yes. I have iris oratoria. (They like the heat). But the ones that I have mated indoors will not lay eggs at all unless they have a heat lamp. I'm still trying to figure out if it needs to be UVB. So far my UVA lights are not working. That just might be for my species. I'm not sure. I have 1...

I was feeding mine wax worms before. They seemed to do good with a few wax worms, but too many made my mantids sick. I would try to find something else to feed your healthy one. Does anyone else have any ideas about that?

Is her eye black in the day? Her wings were normal before? maybe she was in some kind of accident? Try to get her to drink water, or honey water by putting a drop on her front arm.

I have used aloe with success on adults, after snipping. (They might get stuck if they need to still molt). Try not to let them eat it off until it dries. It dries pretty quickly. I have seen them eat it without harming them. Just a thought if the honey does not work. And yes, more ventilation!

I know they can't survive freezing temperatures. I'm not sure about that species, but mine can only last a few days once it lowers to 40 degrees. How cold is it there?

Were you feeding the same crickets to any other critters? Sometimes my weaker mantids get sick from crickets while the stronger ones do not. If it was a bad batch of crickets, a weak mantid would definitely have trouble. So sorry for your loss.

Wow! She is beautiful!

Never mind. I just can't figure out how to delete anything

Sorry about the last question. I really wish to understand the mantids physiology. Then, maybe I would not make so many mistakes

and thank you so much for the info. It really helps!

I am sending L3 - L5's and a couple L6's. Whaat would I use for extra cushioning so that air will still reach them?

Hello, I am going to give a happy new home to most of my Iris oratorias tomorrow. I have followed Yen's thread and almost have all the supplies to be able to ship tomorrow. Does anyone have experience shipping in crazy heat? I am sending them overnight because the weather here is over 105...

Could you tell me if I am in the ball park? I have a hypothesis: I have observed that when a mantid survives the "black death," even though they throw up, they seem to accumulate some kind of internal dark sticky substance. This substance seems to internally clot (like our cholesterol in...

FREE! (only shipping charges) L3 to Sub-adult (I have about 200) Sorry I am not tech savvy. I tried to take pictures with my computer, but. . .

Oh no! She is not bleeding from me picking at them, and I was extremely gentle, but now I am more worried! It is scary because she was so fat. Now she is skinny. She would not eat for a week. I forced a little water a couple days ago, because she had a piece of poop hard and stuck in her...

Hello! I have a subadult who barely made her last molt. She somehow fell right after her molt. She bled with green blood all over and has scabs. Now she is ready to molt again. I am trying to get the scabs off, but I can't get them all. Will the blood scabs get stuck? I am afraid to use...

Many good ideas. I really need to learn about shipping. I was scared to begin with. I should have shipped the ones that hatched early spring. Now that it is over 100 degrees, I'm really scared. At least I got some time before they get too big to figure it out. Thank you!

Help! I don't know what to do. I have hundreds of nymphs to L4! Last year I gave some away, sold some, and let many of them go in my backyard. I live in AZ and I don't think there was enough food for them outside in the heat. Only 1 of mine survived long enough to lay eggs. When those...

Ooth hatched from female with parasitoid flies. I was worried about the ooth. It hatched, and the offspring are beautiful! However, now they are becoming pre-sub adult and sub adult. 3 out of 4 have minor to moderate green bleeding after molting. It's almost like human scurvy! It is like...