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Congrats!

Sure, will do, thanks! I checked another one of her ooths, popped open an egg, and guess what? Rotten again. :( I can't help but feel disappointed, because I was so close - raised them, got them mated, and ended up with fertilized ooths. Looks like something went badly wrong during incubation.

Received a bunch of pupae. Glad to see they didn't hatch into flies in transit. They're hatching nicely!

Got some awesome ghosts plus bonus extras! Thanks!!

Sorry it has taken so long for me to get back. The vast majority of the pupae never developed and turned rotten or dried out. A few developed partially into flies but died somewhere along the way. In total, I ended up with less than 10 flies out of all the pupae! I tried pupating them in wood...

My mated Gongylus has been laying ooths for a while and her latest ooth, laid over two months ago, never hatched, so I cut it open and I found dead embryos that were fully developed (with eyes, body segments, and legs). And yes, they were definitely dead - they were black/rotten, wet (black...

As my mantis collection grows, I figured I need flies in bulk amounts. Earlier this month, I decided to purchase 2,000 spikes from an online bait shop, and they arrived looking in great condition - large, juicy, actively wiggling maggots. I put half in the fridge and the other half at room...

Happy Birthday! Hope it's filled with mantids and butterflies!

Awesome! Looks like your collection is growing nicely and you're doing very well with them. Great work! :)

I received my happy, healthy nymphs, packed very well! Will continue buying from again and again. Great transaction as usual, thanks Henry! :)

Good idea!

During the winter months, when humidity is <30%, I have to mist 2-3 times a day, and still experience mismolts. During the summer, I rarely see mismolts and I mist only every couple of days, because the indoor humidity is as high as 70%. And some of the species, like Hierodula's, are quite...

I take mesh, use a rubber band to secure it around the top of a deli cup, and place the orchid mantis inside. That's it. During the winter months, I place paper towels on the bottom to boost humidity, but currently my room's at 60-70% humidity, which means I only need to spray once every couple...

Haha, those invasions are fun. What's really striking about them is their bright red eyes. And I was pretty shocked at the fact that all those bugs flying around were literally older than me at that time. I found that hard to accept. :P I've actually never seen the regular ones that come out...

The laundry bags hold their shape very well. They're 12" by 12" by 24" and I haven't had any issues with them. :) And yep, ever since I started raising mantises, I've been making frequent trips to the dollar store, for cups, plastic/styrofoam containers, trays, laundry bags, etc. I really...

Cool! While I was taking a walk last week, I found a freshly emerged cicada nymph walking on the sidewalk, covered with dirt, just the one in your picture. I feared for its safety, so I picked it up and placed it in a grassy area, where hopefully it'll be fine. Where I live, there's a...

Don't laugh at me for being cheap, but I use those laundry bags from the dollar store. Since the top is open, I cut some mesh and sow it across the top. Then I cut a slit on one of the sides and sow on a zipper. I know it takes extra work, but it's doable. Plus, I have many mantises and at $15 a...

My first reaction is: "Aww little baby, sooooo cute!" Seriously though, beautiful pics! I never knew they were so...detailed!

Well, what is your indoor humidity? For me, it's 60% in the summer, which means I don't need to spray my orchids very often. I only spray every 2-3 days with just a few droplets of water on the sides of the containers so they can drink. I found that spraying too much leads to more health issues...

I don't think you can put fruit fly cultures in the fridge/freezer. The cold temperatures will kill them. You can place the cultures in slightly colder locations to slow them down. For example, a culture kept at 65F will produce slowly compared to a culture kept at 85F. But if you too far in...