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Just received another order of blue bottle pupae, and this time they were very well insulated with a cold pack. No hatches this time. :) Thank you!

Welcome to the forum! If you have aquariums with more width than height another option is to stand it on its side to give the mantids more height, if needed. Obviously you need to make some modifications to make sure they have a gripping surface on the new "top" though. But with larger...

Welcome, glad to have you in the forum!

I don't feed with crickets often, mostly just as a bonus supplement for the larger females that eat a lot. However, I keep them in the cricket keeper and use the tubes to dump a single cricket into a small deli cup. From there, while holding the lid most of the way on the cup so the cricket...

I just saw this, and I have no experience breeding crickets but I knew that I had seen a great post with pictures of a setup before, and managed to find it, deceivingly in a thread called "Roaches". ? and (The two posts are consecutive in the same topic) I know it's late but hopefully it...

I raised Chinese mantids in winter and I misted twice a day until spring when the humidity started going up, and then I dropped it to once a day. It seemed to work okay for me here in Michigan without a humidifier or even a hygrometer.

Hmm, it seems like the texture might be hard for them to grip but you could always try first before setting something up. Otherwise I don't see why you couldn't use them though, to hold decorations in place if nothing else.

Welcome, and have fun with your new mantids! Also, don't hesitate to turn that lurking into asking a question if needed. :)

I hadn't ordered from Sarah before but I decided to try her bluebottle flies, which is something I order online regularly. They arrived on time and are packaged nicely for storage in a deli cup with air holes. There were also 50 extras in both of my orders. The second one did have a bunch of...

@Synapze I'm not entirely sure but I think basalis gets a slightly more prominent shield. It is fun watching the shield develop with each molt!

I currently have: 1 adult female ghost (just over a year old) - the last remaining of my ghosts I purchased last June 3 adult Rhombodera basalis (2 females, 1 male) I am thinking of getting Creobroter gemmatus or pictipennis as my next species after some summer travels.

@Synapze Just wanted to say that I also handle my mantids in the bathroom sometimes! Usually for adult males that I don't want flying out of reach anywhere. For tiny nymphs, I try to keep them on a big flat surface that is a very different color from them, such as a white towel or sheet of...

Those pictures and video are great, nicely done!

Congrats!  The colors are awesome and I just got my first glimpse of that bright pink on my own the other day when my adult female started calling.  Bending her abdomen really showed off the pink color.

Welcome to the forum. :)   Aww, so glad you could get the mantis you wanted and the terrarium looks pretty cool!  One thought might be to add more mesh, particularly fiberglass instead of aluminum, to offer more gripping surfaces, which are especially important for successful molts. Have fun!

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing!

Amazing color, thanks for sharing.  I haven't tried light boxes at all, sorry.

So cute, and how exciting!  Enjoy them while you can, as we all know they grow up so fast. ?

I try to keep my pupae out of the way in the fridge so as not to disturb my husband. :)   But I have forgotten flies in the freezer before and realized much too late that I had been about to feed my mantises at one point.  I have had blue bottles come back from being in the freezer for much...

Welcome!  Do you plan to get any in the future?  If so, what species are you considering?