Alexander's Mantids: 2012 - Present

[LAME]

I was thinking: Quasimodo, or just Quasi for short.

 

[MantidBro]

I was thinking: Quasimodo, or just Quasi for short.

Lol i was thinking that too!! its just perfect, cause of his little hunch x)

 

[dmina]

Great update.. everyone is doing so well... good job..and thanks for sharing!

 

[MantidBro]

Great update.. everyone is doing so well... good job..and thanks for sharing!

Thanks! Yes theyre all doing well! Aside from Lawless, RIP!! youre welcome for sharing

 

[MantidBro]

September 16th

I received Lawless' replacement from MikhailsDinos! He is currently at L5. I named him after Lawless... "Heterodox". It has the same meaning as "Lawless".

And he also sent me free L1 Griffins! Here is one:

17th

Chip (male Hierodula xishaensis) molted to L7! He posed perfectly for me for this photo:

18th

Baline (female Idolomantis diabolica) reached L8 at last! She is now a sub-adult. She took 39 days this time!

I used that net-like material that's in some swim shorts. I had an old pair that I was going to throw out, and I thought... Hmm, that looks good for molting. GriM (female Pnigomantis medioconstricta) molted to adulthood from it and now Baline molted to sub-adulthood from it. I at first was worried about what I should do for Baline, so tried a few different things out, which is why the top has things on it. I had some green styro-foam type material in there at first, which seemed to be working, but I became paranoid and removed it. Then I had sticks in there, but I noticed, she could hang from the netting better than she could hang from the sticks. On the sticks, I noticed a foot would slip now and again, and that's no good. So I removed those as well. She got a great grip on that net-like material. Here's a photo:



She actually used her own exuvia to hang from as she hardened, and it didn't fall. All four feet were still in place. And if you look closely, you can see that one of her front feet is actually holding onto a bit of the green styro-foam that got stuck there.

Here is a photo showing the size difference between a female at L7 and at L8:



Tacca actually looks small compared to Baline!

And here are some other shots, just to show her off:

She is beautiful!

That's it for now. Enjoy!

 

[MantidBro]

September 19th

Silver (male Heterochaeta) molted! Looks to be at L5, I really can't tell, I miscounted. Woops!

September 20th

Heterodox (the L5 male Idolomantis I got from Mikhail) reached L6! I love how it looks like he was splashed with dirt, his markings are cool.

September 22nd

The L1 Idolos I got from Exo eatin' grasshopper bits:

Finally gave my adult female Mantis religiosa a name... Joy! My sister said I had to name her after a certain song cause it looked like she was dancing lol.

And here is Baline... just showing her off. She is beautiful.

 

[CosbyArt]

Awesome purple on their heads and abdomens, and the texture on Heterodox is wicked

I like Joy, she is pretty. If you ever breed her and want to exchange a ooth for a Carolina ooth or something I'd be happy to. I haven't had a chance to try that native species yet.

 

[MantidBro]

Awesome purple on their heads and abdomens, and the texture on Heterodox is wicked

I like Joy, she is pretty. If you ever breed her and want to exchange a ooth for a Carolina ooth or something I'd be happy to. I haven't had a chance to try that native species yet.

Ikr? and yeah, he is!

I actually did breed her, but its been like a month since and she hasnt laid an ootheca yet. Its odd. They mated for 4 1/2 hours and he jumped off on his own so im thinking he HAD to have released his seed?? i did find some ooths at the spot i collected the religiosas, they gotta be fertile, im practically 100% that they are. So i guess we will see if joy lays one soon! then you can decide if you want one of hers or one of the field collected ones, if youd be willing to trade for one of those.

 

[CosbyArt]

Ikr? and yeah, he is!

I actually did breed her, but its been like a month since and she hasnt laid an ootheca yet. Its odd. They mated for 4 1/2 hours and he jumped off on his own so im thinking he HAD to have released his seed?? i did find some ooths at the spot i collected the religiosas, they gotta be fertile, im practically 100% that they are. So i guess we will see if joy lays one soon! then you can decide if you want one of hers or one of the field collected ones, if youd be willing to trade for one of those.

That is strange about Joy. Perhaps she isn't as old as you think or she already laid all her ooths for the season - hopefully she will lay a ooth soon though. Sure I'd be willing to trade for either type of ooth, with one from Joy being preferred though (as no chance of parasitic wasps that way).

 

[MantidBro]

That is strange about Joy. Perhaps she isn't as old as you think or she already laid all her ooths for the season - hopefully she will lay a ooth soon though. Sure I'd be willing to trade for either type of ooth, with one from Joy being preferred though (as no chance of parasitic wasps that way).

Ooths just started showing up at the field, maybe they just take a long time to lay? the time i collected her, there were still sub adults around, so i dont think she is very old, and i dont think she had been mated previously. I cant prove that but i just got a feeling. I do hope she will lay soon though. Haha that is true!

 

[CosbyArt]

Ooths just started showing up at the field, maybe they just take a long time to lay? the time i collected her, there were still sub adults around, so i dont think she is very old, and i dont think she had been mated previously. I cant prove that but i just got a feeling. I do hope she will lay soon though. Haha that is true!

From any females I've raised that laid ooths (referring to my log file) it is about 30 to 40 days after they molt to adults on average. Or 16 to 26 days after 2 weeks to reach sexual maturity before the first ooth is laid. So it seems she is still in the average time frame, and who is to say she isn't a late starter?

 

[MantidBro]

From any females I've raised that laid ooths (referring to my log file) it is about 30 to 40 days after they molt to adults on average. Or 16 to 26 days after 2 weeks to reach sexual maturity before the first ooth is laid. So it seems she is still in the average time frame, and who is to say she isn't a late starter?

Yeah thats true, maybe shes just slow to lay

 

[LAME]

Aaaaahhh!!! Lookit' all those idolos! XD

Really sweet photos bro. =)

 

[MantidBro]

Aaaaahhh!!! Lookit' all those idolos! XD

Really sweet photos bro. =)

Loool ikr?? now this is more like it! haha! Im lucky to have em.

Thanks man!

 

[mantiseater]

Wow this this thread is making me need to try idolos!

 

[MantidBro]

Wow this this thread is making me need to try idolos!

Haha

 

[MantidBro]

September 25th

The Griffin Mantis reached L2! Not gonna name him/her til I am positive of the sex.

26th

The Idolomantis I refer to as "1" molted to L2.

27th

The Idolomantis I referred to as "2" mismolted when trying to molt from L1 to L2. It seemed to start molting some time after I misted. I am thinking a drop of water may have pulled him/her down as he/she was molting.

And Tacca joined Baline and molted to L8 (subadulthood)! Whoo!

Again I used the home-made container with the fabric from swimshorts as a molting surface. It works incredibly well!!

Here's a video of Tacca molting, sped up x2:

 

[CosbyArt]

..
Again I used the home-made container with the fabric from swimshorts as a molting surface. It works incredibly well!!

...

Looks like a good material, and a better reuse of old shorts.

If you want to buy it by the yard it is sold at most fabric stores and is usually called "Polyester Dive Mesh" or "Polyester Cargo Mesh"; although, it can be a bit expensive at about $10 a yard - local stores likely have better prices. Here is one store with it online, never bought from them, just found it there.

 

[Sticky]

I found it on Amazon too.

 

[MantidBro]

Looks like a good material, and a better reuse of old shorts.

If you want to buy it by the yard it is sold at most fabric stores and is usually called "Polyester Dive Mesh" or "Polyester Cargo Mesh"; although, it can be a bit expensive at about $10 a yard - local stores likely have better prices. Here is one store with it online, never bought from them, just found it there.

Haha! Yeah! And hey, guys... they are CLEAN! xD

Oh dude, that's cool! Thanks for that! I'm going to spread the word. We have to help the first time Idolo owners who are as anxious as me about molts!