I had two lovely, lively, friendly little Creobroter gemmatus. Wee Thomas lived in the museum in a critter keeper type thing, eating Drosophila and the occasional tiny cricket I found. He is growing into a delightful little creature. Wangi? lived in my freezing flat until I noticed it was far too cold for him, at which point I moved him to the museum. He was never as jumpy abouty as Thomas but he was friendly and inquisitive enough. I took him home for the holidays, a 4 hour train journey in a box in my bag didn't seem to do him any harm as he was put in a damp pint glass by the radiator with some Drosophila. He caught and ate a few that I saw. He also ate the occasional hand-fed, disembowelled cricket when I hadn't seen him eating for a few days. At night he went in the airing cupboard so that I didn't have to have a baking hot room to sleep in.
He moulted within a week, I have lost count of the instars but it was the first moult where he had a wee bit of green on him, I believe in his next moult he would have functioning wings. He took a long time to moult (his bum stayed attached to the old skin for aaages) and I noticed he was very thin once moulted, although he had been fat before. I hand-fed him a cricket and he ate a little bit but not much. Thinking nothing of it, I put him back in his glass with a new phial of Drosophila. Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, I noticed the very tip of his abdomen was black and against the side of the glass, which was damp. I poked him and he moved away on the first instance. On the second instance I realised he was still thin and had not eaten much since his moult, so I lifted the glass to get him out. He was standing in the normal position on top of a bamboo stem as he usually likes to do. However when I lifted the glass and took out the bamboo, he fell out limply without jumping or trying to get to his feet.
His abdomen was still pulsing and occasionally he moved a leg, but other than that there was no sign of him. I tried to hand-feed him some cricket, but he wouldn't even suck it even when I touched it to his mouth. I tried a bit of toilet paper soaked with water for him to drink, but he didn't try that either. He just lay there, waiting to die. I wondered if I should put him in the freezer, but I didn't want anyone to see him because they wouldn't want me to be sad on Christmas day. They still don't know. So I left him next to the cricket in the airing cupboard for a while, hoping.
When I took him out later, his abdomen had stopped pulsating. I took a few pictures of him then put him inside some wrapping paper to bury today. I thought about pinning him but in my religion that is like suspended animation: by being eaten you are reincarnated. If he is not eaten he cannot be anything else, if he is just pinned he will stay dead for many many years. There is nothing to be gained from pinning him either: the world has seen a Creobroter gemmatus and they are doing fine in the wild.
So my first mantid who I loved dearly is dead. I definitely have a hole in my heart and a twinge of guilt, although I don't know what went wrong. I was thinking of getting another mantid in the spring when it is warmer, but for now I think I might get another to put in the museum for a while. A Pseudempusa pinnapavonis nymph perhaps or maybe even another Creobroter gemmatus...or a Pseudobotra...haven't quite made my mind up. I want to carry on keeping them, it was delightful knowing Wangi? and the pleasure I got out of rearing him mfar outweighed the sadness of his death.
Wee Thomas is as far as I know still alive. In his youth he was misted only twice a week (like every other mantid we have kept in the museum, never a death among them...) and moulted fine. However on his last moult, this time he has wings which I think would work (he does keep trying to fly) except they were all mangled when they came out. Since this moult about 2 weeks ago I have misted him daily and thoroughly in the hope that next moult he might sort himself out. When I handle him he is still his same old self except sometimes he wriggles his abdomen from side to side in a contorted kind of way as if try to get out of a jumper that is too tight. He also tries to fly but his wings are so mangled that he just falls. I have given him a cricket with forceps and he has held it fine between his front legs, but I have yet to see him catch his own prey. I just try to keep him fat so thaty maybe next moult he might sort himself out.
It is a very sad state of affairs to see these young nymphs who were so full of life and made us so happy, to be like this: one dead another deformed. I'd very much like to learn from this so hopefully it doesn't happen again. I have a few theories about what killed Wangi?: he could have mismoulted, his bum may have been damaged in the moult; it could be that when it was against the damp glass it went mouldy; spores from the kiwi fruit I put in there to feed the Drosophila could have been inhaled by Wangi?; he could have just not eaten enough. He certainly didn't seem to be as willing to pursue his prey in the last couple of moults as he was in the first.
He moulted within a week, I have lost count of the instars but it was the first moult where he had a wee bit of green on him, I believe in his next moult he would have functioning wings. He took a long time to moult (his bum stayed attached to the old skin for aaages) and I noticed he was very thin once moulted, although he had been fat before. I hand-fed him a cricket and he ate a little bit but not much. Thinking nothing of it, I put him back in his glass with a new phial of Drosophila. Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, I noticed the very tip of his abdomen was black and against the side of the glass, which was damp. I poked him and he moved away on the first instance. On the second instance I realised he was still thin and had not eaten much since his moult, so I lifted the glass to get him out. He was standing in the normal position on top of a bamboo stem as he usually likes to do. However when I lifted the glass and took out the bamboo, he fell out limply without jumping or trying to get to his feet.
His abdomen was still pulsing and occasionally he moved a leg, but other than that there was no sign of him. I tried to hand-feed him some cricket, but he wouldn't even suck it even when I touched it to his mouth. I tried a bit of toilet paper soaked with water for him to drink, but he didn't try that either. He just lay there, waiting to die. I wondered if I should put him in the freezer, but I didn't want anyone to see him because they wouldn't want me to be sad on Christmas day. They still don't know. So I left him next to the cricket in the airing cupboard for a while, hoping.
When I took him out later, his abdomen had stopped pulsating. I took a few pictures of him then put him inside some wrapping paper to bury today. I thought about pinning him but in my religion that is like suspended animation: by being eaten you are reincarnated. If he is not eaten he cannot be anything else, if he is just pinned he will stay dead for many many years. There is nothing to be gained from pinning him either: the world has seen a Creobroter gemmatus and they are doing fine in the wild.
So my first mantid who I loved dearly is dead. I definitely have a hole in my heart and a twinge of guilt, although I don't know what went wrong. I was thinking of getting another mantid in the spring when it is warmer, but for now I think I might get another to put in the museum for a while. A Pseudempusa pinnapavonis nymph perhaps or maybe even another Creobroter gemmatus...or a Pseudobotra...haven't quite made my mind up. I want to carry on keeping them, it was delightful knowing Wangi? and the pleasure I got out of rearing him mfar outweighed the sadness of his death.
Wee Thomas is as far as I know still alive. In his youth he was misted only twice a week (like every other mantid we have kept in the museum, never a death among them...) and moulted fine. However on his last moult, this time he has wings which I think would work (he does keep trying to fly) except they were all mangled when they came out. Since this moult about 2 weeks ago I have misted him daily and thoroughly in the hope that next moult he might sort himself out. When I handle him he is still his same old self except sometimes he wriggles his abdomen from side to side in a contorted kind of way as if try to get out of a jumper that is too tight. He also tries to fly but his wings are so mangled that he just falls. I have given him a cricket with forceps and he has held it fine between his front legs, but I have yet to see him catch his own prey. I just try to keep him fat so thaty maybe next moult he might sort himself out.
It is a very sad state of affairs to see these young nymphs who were so full of life and made us so happy, to be like this: one dead another deformed. I'd very much like to learn from this so hopefully it doesn't happen again. I have a few theories about what killed Wangi?: he could have mismoulted, his bum may have been damaged in the moult; it could be that when it was against the damp glass it went mouldy; spores from the kiwi fruit I put in there to feed the Drosophila could have been inhaled by Wangi?; he could have just not eaten enough. He certainly didn't seem to be as willing to pursue his prey in the last couple of moults as he was in the first.
