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These guys actually are not metallic like most of the Nymphalidae chrysalides I've seen. They're not reflective at all, really. The one near the top is still a bit soft and hasn't had developed the extremely thin waxy layer that would take away the shine of the exoskeleton. I had to remove them...

I collected female Variable Checkerspot Butterflies last year in April and they laid eggs that hatched out and fed on some Penstemon from my garden until they reached the third instar. At that point, they stopped feeding and began their obligatory larval diapause during the summer. They came out...

I've always like Deroplatys truncata, but I've never seen them available in the US while I've been in the hobby. I hope one day they make their way over in numbers where they might be more commonly available.

Egg guarding has been documented in many species of insects and shown to reduce predation on the eggs even if the females remain on them for only a short period of time after laying. I agree that they are probably tired and resting, but that does not mean that they are not also guarding. There...

It probably ate/drank something bad and is puking it up. I've found that mantises shipped in cups with too much moisture often end up drinking the poop-laden water and arrive vomiting.

It's not that solitary confinement that triggers pupation, but contact with other larvae inhibits pupation since they would be devoured if they did not find somewhere isolated and safe to pupate. Superworm beetles are a decent-sized beetle. Definitely much bigger than a the mealworm beetle...

A simple container is all you need and you don't need to go overboard in enclosure size as long as you give them the room they need to make their web hides or burrows. I've had more issues with mold in coco fiber than peat, so I've been using peat with my tarantulas. I mix in a little sand to...

Good luck! My females have had terrible fertility despite having been mated several times by three different males. The first ootheca they've laid is due to hatch soon and candling has revealed only about a dozen developing eggs out of nearly two hundred.

The male's ability to produce sperm might be impaired with age, but perhaps they can retain sperm from earlier production if females are able to mate and keep sperm alive long enough within their spermathecae to continue laying fertile oothecae for the most of the rest of their adult lives.

Yes, they're surprisingly flexible and can reach back while they bring the end of their abdomen forward a little to reach the ovipositor.

If you do use wild-caught crickets, be aware that there's a chance you may infect your mantises with gordian worms.

Unlike superworms that need to be separated in order to pupate, mealworms will pupate within the enclosure and subsequently be devoured by the superworms. Aside from that, there should be relatively little issue with keeping them together aside from the superworms munching on freshly molted...

Orchid mantis oothecae have a tendency to have high variability in fertility even guaranteed to be mated, so I'd recommend against the ootheca unless it's guaranteed fertile. That said, I do not recommend purchasing nymphs from overseas as delays can be rather disastrous, especially in species...

Some females will remain in the vicinity of their oothecae for some time to ensure that it isn't attacked before it's fully hardened. It's normal behavior that'll occur even if the ootheca is not fertile. Any foam left on the ovipositor will be cleaned off by the female who can and will reach...

Red runners will lay oothecae that they'll drop around their enclosure. If the enclosure isn't kept humid, the oothecae will shrivel and the eggs inside with dry out and die. Usually you'll want to collect the oothecae and incubate them in their own humid enclosures rather than make the roach...

It has three other functioning hind legs, so it will have no problem molting. It should be able to molt and regenerate the missing leg little by little assuming there's still at least a coxa, the first segment of leg, remaining. Don't worry about it and treat it as you would a nymph with all its...

The babies are growing pretty quickly now that they're feeding on larger, gut-loaded roaches. Their  Fruit flies and newly hatched roaches don't make the most nutritionally balanced diet. I had to hold back on feeding the adults by throwing in large roaches when I discovered a few of the...

It's not as much the pushing that causes prolapse, and more the weakening of the muscles keeping everything inside. Most insects are more likely to burst from the side of the abdomen than end up with a prolapse if you tried squeezing them. There's a chance that you're very unlucky and just...

No, trying to lay eggs will not make a prolapsed anus worse since they do not share the same plumbing. Prolapses shouldn't be common, and I'm not sure what would cause it in insects. It may be diet-related, but that's just a guess. I personally have not seen prolapses in mantises in my collection.

If it initiated the process of molting and did not escape completely very quickly, there's absolutely nothing you can do. Even managing to remove exoskeleton that should have been molted off without accidentally injuring the mantis will not work, as you cannot remove the exoskeleton still lining...