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Hey Swipht, Any chance you can post a clear photo of your ants? If not, can you get a good, close up view and describe the workers? Does it have one or two nodes? Small, black, and common-looking describes about 25 different species of common ants here in New Mexico. I wouldn't be surprised to...

Hey Phil, There's some useful info from your new toy! So paper towels will slowly release moisture for 7-9 hours? Wow! I didn't think it would last that long. Is that dependent on cloth or mesh cover? Is the drop to ambient levels linear? It would prove helpful if you could start with an exact...

You may need to add additional brood to give the workers something to play with :lol:

Good to hear that they stay active at room temp. My bug room stays at 68-70 degrees year round. I normally have to provide heat pads to my native ant colonies, even in summer! The mantids get several heat lamps as well. Are the worker slaves out and about yet? Can you tell how many survived the...

I have kept S. limbata for several years. Both captive bred and wild caught. First, while the ooth is able to tolerate very cold weather, a cold period IS NOT NEEDED!! They hatch just fine when kept at room temp. And those that over winter have proven to be no stronger then those I kept at room...

Thanks for the link! Very useful video. I will try it out on the colony I currently have. But I will cut down the water some :lol: . I looked at a few of your other vids. Are those Lasius in your winter/war vid? How cold was it? Best of luck with your slave-maker queen! Let me know how it...

Very cool list of ants you've got there!! That is one thing I like about ants over mantids, you can have several colonies and still use less space, (and money!!). Looks like you have the same Polyergus species in IN as we have down here in NM. You have either P. breviceps or P. lucidus. Very...

Hey Robo, How long have you been keeping ants? I started seriously in 2001. My best results were with the many Pogonomyrmex sp found here. The only colony I have at the moment is Forelius pruinosus. I've had it going since Nov 2002. I found an entire colony under a patio block. The only ants I...

As Rick pointed out, you can increase the heat to speed up hatching. But you do run the risk of the ooth drying out. There is no chart/graph. Each species is unique. So some take longer then others even when the temps are constant. But you can speed up hatch time by raising the temp for most...

I just got another package from Paul. 2 male S. limbata and 2 male bud-wings. Packing was top notch and arrived right on time. Great comm. and quick to respond. One of the best breeders around! Thanks again!!

I have seen a couple raiding parties over the years. Alas, I can find no record of the genus in Texas. Odd to say the least. But, if you don't mind travelling, there are two species found in New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas. So while I can not find records of them in TX, I wouldn't be surprised...

That's right! I've got too many and have run out of room. I need to send a few off to good homes. All you have to pay is for express shipping, about $25.00. Only available to US though. I can not ship these out of country. If you would like some send me a PM.

Your container may be a bit on the small side, but not too bad. And you have plenty of ventilation. How warm are you keeping them? My first attempt with wide arms failed as I could not keep them warm enough! I am not sure of the optimal temp, but I now keep mine at 84-85F and they are doing OK...

Hey Rick, Is there a reason you are so against the idea of infections in mantids? I'm not sure about mantids, but bacterial and fungal infections do occur in other insects. In fact, BT bacteria are used in agriculture to control several species of moth larvae. I also have several cool photos of...

Yes, you can feed your mantid spiders. A black widow is no more dangerous to a mantid then a cricket. Less actually considering how slow and clumsy widows are when not in thier web. ANY AND ALL spiders have venom that CAN effect a mantid if the spider has a chance of delivering the bite. Don't...

These are the photos Chase sent to me. Not very clear, but a few details are visible. Not a Tenodera sp ooth. Looks like some type of Stegmomantis ooth and nymph to me. The nymph appears to be some what "longer" in body then my S. limbata and S. californica are. So my guess is S. floridensis...

SORRY!!! :blink: I just realized I've been having a senior moment! I not only mis-spelled the name, I have been directing you to the wrong species. I meant S. floridensis, NOT S. gracilipes!!!!! S. floridensis is found in florida while S. gracilipes is found in Arizona. Sorry about the...

Best of luck with your new critters! If they are S. gracilipis, that species is rather rare in the hobby. Quite a few people might like some of them.

You "shouldn't" find wild S. limbata in southern FL. S. gracilipis or S. carolina are more likely your species. Email me your photos and I will try to ID them for you.

I sent Becky a few adult female Giant Shields a while back. There was no request for anything in return. Becky was nice enough to send me the first ooth laid as a "thank you". She didn't even ask me to pay shipping! The ooth itself looks good and should "pop" in a week or so. Well packed and...