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The bottom line here is that no one is going to do this. It's possible to accomplish but it would require to much study and effort for no practical gain. S-

DARKSPEED, If you wouldn't have talked smack you wouldn't have gotten any back. The point is that the color potential of each mantid species is in their genes. It is not completely random or completely controlled by their environment. Some species will have a more complicated color genetic...

Well, based on your comments, I do appear to have more knowledge on the subject than you do. And it wouldn't take 20 millions years to breed for color. It didn't take 20 million years to breed flightless and wingless fruit flies. As I intimated previously, this is harder to do with polygenic...

DARKSPEED, Genetics define what colors are possible. Genetics restricts the range of color change possible in species that do alter color due to environmental factors. If the breeder has enough information, it would be possible to breed for color given enough time. Through natural selection...

I don't believe that is true. If you were to raise Hierodula membranacea in an all purple environment, they are not going to turn purple. Hymenopus coronatus is not going to turn yellow if you put it on yellow flowers. There is certainly a genetic component to mantid color. Selective breeding...

You can do just about anything given enough time, dedication, and money. It's easy to do when only one or two genes are involved and only two alleles per gene are present in the population. This is common in dogs but I doubt insect color is going to be that easy. S-

Odds are the Yellow Jacket is a Vespula vulgaris, V. germanica or V. maculifrons. These wasps have powerful and well developed mandibles which could easily damage a mantid if the wasp got ion a position to bite. S-

My current dream mantis is Hierodula salomonis. The common name is Jade mantis. This species has the size and ease rearing common to the larger Hierodula sp. with some very interesting coloration. I hope to get some oothecae from England after the first of the year. S-

Birdfly, This is out of control! I wholeheartedly agree that there is a time and a place when larger prey items are not acceptable. For example, I would not feed an adult Blaptica dubia to a Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii. I just don't see a problem feeding adult Blaptica dubia to adult female...

Birdfly, No, what is silly is arguing that Blaptica dubia are not good feeder insects for larger mantids and that feeding adult B. dubia to adult female Tenodera sinensis is fraught with danger for the mantid. I don't care one bit what your feed your mantids. That's up to you. If you wanted to...

Rob, This is silly. Adult Blaptica dubia are a perfectly safe food for an adult female Tenodera sinensis. Suggesting otherwise is silly. S-

Birdfly, There is a bigger risk feeding an adult female Tenodera sinensis grasshopers and locust than adult Blaptica dubia. I don't get it. B. dubia are 1.5" long and are relatively docile, even when being eaten alive. I'd rather feed adult B. dubia than house crickets. S-

This has nothing to do with nit picking. Birdfly wrote: "An adult female T sinensis could manage an adult dubia roach if v hungry but safer to give more smaller ones." That implies that an adult female Tenodera sinensis might not be able to safely manage an adult Blaptica dubia. Is that not...

Birdfly, If an adult female Tenodera sinensis can't easily handle an adult Blaptica dubia, there is something wrong with the adult female T. sinensis. S-

Arkanis, I grew up in Pasadena. What area of town do you live in? Scott

Rebecca, Your web site says "Parashendale Affinnis" when it should say "Parasphendale affinis". S-

Sure. But that looks so unnatural! But that is what I will probably use until my mantids are big enough to move into a terrarium with a natural looking environment. S-

desana, All caps is considered yelling and is not good form. S-

Morpheus uk, You wrote: "USA keepers seem to only keep mantids to see whats the biggest thing they can tackle next for some retarded blood lust" That statement is not "simply pointing out" that you "dont (sic) know any keeper outside the USA who do this". That statement generalizes the...

Rick, I would think that between having to add moisture more often to the coconut fiber or dealing with hiding food in spaghnum moss, adding moisture is the lesser of two evils. A hiding cricket can damage or kill a molting mantid. Not to mention getting foul smelling sooner. I am thinking...