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I wouldn't worry about them biting down on it and damaging themselves at all, I think that would be akin to you biting down on your fork and hurting yourself, it could happen but usually doesn't. Also, the tip of the thumbtack isn't all that sharp, I have a hard time getting it to pierce the...

The construction isn't anything special, it's a thumbtack stuck in some clay. I stick the tack into the food and push the base of the tack into clay which I push onto the table. I mush the feeder a little and push it towards the mantis' mouth and once they take to the food, I smush the clay...

Also depends on what happens with the mantids that you have, I have one that had a mismolt but is still relatively healthy but needs hand feeding. This take about 30 minutes every other day that wouldn't be needed if it was healthy.

Have to hand feed a mantis that mismolted, his raptors are held off to the side of his body and he cannot grip with his left and barely with this right. He would drop a fly about 30-50 times per feeding and finally I decided to put something together to hold the fly for him, hopefully he'll be...

Ah, thanks so much for the information. He seems to be doing just fine with it so far!

I let the adults go to old age, anything younger that struggles (especially from mismolts) I feed to a larger mantis, if they seem sickly I freeze them instead.

My mantis has some eye damage, not sure if anyone knows what might have caused it. Fly only diet so it's not damage from some other critter and there aren't other mantises in its enclosure. I know sometimes the eyes go black from what appears to be rubbing on the side of the enclosure, but in...

I'm just North of Trenton and I never see any Mantis around...guess I should walk down into Trenton and take a look!

Right after turning on the lights in a dark room, their whole eyes are black.

the females tend to live longer than the males, she'll probably hold out but might lay some blank ooths waiting

Find a plant covered in them and use a pooter is probably the best way.

My ghosts all sit upside-down with their abdomen next to their head. Like Krissim said, while the Chinese can curl their abdomen, this is more of an unnatural crease.

Hmmm, on the plants I believe they feed on aphids. Would aphids be small enough for them? Perhaps springtails?

Might be less babies too since some people wouldn't leave the house! :eek:

Not sure, but I know they were an option of pest control I explored (I ended up going with ladybugs and preying mantis instead) and their eggs are readily available to gardeners, just Google lacewing eggs.

Well two days ago the first of my floppy abdomen Chinese molted into an adult and turned out beautiful. However last night another floppy abdomen one tried to molt to adult and failed to pull out any of his abdomen. I found him this morning on the ground so don't know if he failed to pull out...

yep, both of us posted in the same minute :P

I found this to be an excellent write-up on how to tell: http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=24368&hl=%2Bidolomantis+%2Bsexing&fromsearch=1

looks damp on the bottom and often a small insect can get stuck and drown in even the smallest amount of water, terrible shipping method and I've never received anything even close to being packed like that.

Rebecca, your name isn't green!!!! :P