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man you guys are split right down the middle on this! It really is that difficult to tell the difference between the two genera at nymph stage!

my prettiest lady, I have too much fun snapping photos of her cute face.

Shieldmantid: hehe my aquaintence is actually located in the states, and the mantis was acquired at a bug fair in their state! So location doesn't help with the ID of this particular lass (though it would be handy if it did!) With location being a non-factor, it's so hard to ID these kinds of...

If they're not belly up or face in the dirt, don't assume them dead. they'll need to hang upside down to molt, so do make sure they'll be able to do so. According to what I have heard, it is apparently not unusual to see only 20% or so if your mantids make it past infanthood, so just keep...

Hah! It's actually really surprising how close some of you look to the way I kind of assumed you looked. Normally, I'm waaay off. It's kinda cool to see the faces of everyone here! I guess I'll dump my face here, too: Mantis has no use for kisses; prefers to employ lips as staircase instead.

An acquaintance of mine returned from a bug fair with an unidentified nymph!: I love her pale coloration. Is this a Sphodromantis sp. or a Hierodula sp.? Or is it something else?

man, this looks like a Chloroharpax ooth But--did you find this in the Californian wild? If so, my ID would make 0 sense. These guys are an african species.

weird! The only time I got chewed on was when I tried taking my Hierodula out to show her to my parents on skype. I wasn't paying attention at all to what I was doing, because if I was, I would have noticed that she was in hunting mode, stalking a grasshopper I had left in there for her from...

ah! Yes, the proud mom is here!: :D

Looks like I'm gonna have to go springtail collecting, then! Here's a photo of this itty bitty ooth!: I have no idea how many nymphs could be crammed into there, but if there's any in there at all, they are going to be teenie tiny when they emerge. Any educated guesses on how long this will...

Thanks, guys!! The large aquarium turned terrarium housing the Hierodula is 5.5 gallons The other one is hardly smaller, 5 gallons. :]

So my wild-caught and (assumed) Amantis sp. just laid an ooth that's half the size of my pinkie fingernail. I'm thinking I want to hold onto it and see if it's fertilized (I suspect it is, since Mom never displayed any calling behavior at all during the time I've had her). But if I'm going to...

I think perhaps it is a Scotophaeus blackwalli (aka: "Mouse Spider") Does this look close to what you have there? :]

I have never experienced this problem myself, but it seems relatively common in the Tenodera genus. The best suggestion I've read was to reorient the enclosure so that they can hang vertically, but cannot hang completely upside-down from a horizontal surface. Given their condition, I have a...

I have another question in relation to my girl being quite thirsty while also excreting lots of water: What's the chances of her being the host to a horsehair worm? And once the host enters "insatiable thirst" phase, what other signs might give away a horsehair worm's presence in the mantid...

I just remember reading about this family of insect in a north american bug encyclopedia way back in the third grade! So I looked up "purple rove beetle" and your little bug showed up in the search, scientific name and everything! I'm glad we could solve this mystery! :D

I think you have a species of Rove Beetle there, Boss! (Staphylinidae). Though which, I am not sure! Have a looksee!: This one is called Platydracus violaceus and is found in eastern north america. Does it look close to what you have? :D Wings (different species, but same family, same...

hehe, sunlight :D It's a big room facing the sun, with big windows that we keep them in. We were careful though to place the terrariums in locations where the sunlight will not directly hit. The local climate is their home climate, but the very last thing I want is greenhouse-roasted mantis...

Oh wat?? Apparently toxodera are native to malaysia, which means we might actually get them here too! I just looked em up, and jeeeeeze they are beautiful!! They must be such a bugger to find in the wild though @ u@ I must have them!! I must!!!

LOL we've got a spare room, rent can be paid in the form of taking care of my mantids while I'm away on visits to Canada hahaha!