sinensispsyched
Well-known member
Wow, that's scary! I have two sub blue flash males right now!
Any way to stop the black eyes of death?
- Thread starter brancsikia339
- Start date
Help Support Mantidforum:
rs4guy
Well-known member
I have a strong inkling it has to do with lighting. I use CFL light bulbs and the 2 mantids (BF and Linoela males) closest to the light have a cataract style blotch on its eyes.
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
We're going wild here, folks! What is a "cataract style blotch"? A cataract is a white opacity that develops on the lenses of vertebrate eyes. In humans, it is associated with age rather than light. but, of course, the two main mantis eyes are composed of conical ommantidia -- take a look here for an interesting article: http://jeb.biologists.org/content/80/1/165.full.pdf
The black spots that someone else reports are called pseudo pupils and look like black dots that move over the eye according to the observers viewpoint.. They are also mentioned in that article.
It occurs to me that the article cited above may be a bit hard for some of our younger members. Don't despair! Look up "ommantidia" in Wiki and go on to the other topics, like "pseudo pupil", listed there.
The black spots that someone else reports are called pseudo pupils and look like black dots that move over the eye according to the observers viewpoint.. They are also mentioned in that article.
It occurs to me that the article cited above may be a bit hard for some of our younger members. Don't despair! Look up "ommantidia" in Wiki and go on to the other topics, like "pseudo pupil", listed there.
happy1892
Well-known member
Those two black spots are strange but this is not that. It stays in the same place and sometimes it is not round. And the white part here is a reflection.http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w440/Happy1892/Sphodromantis%20sp%20%20Blue%20Flash/Nymphs/SAM_7462.jpg
Last edited by a moderator:
rs4guy
Well-known member
Yea Yuma, not at all what I was talking about. I obviously know its not actual cataracts, just sort of looks like it. I attribute it to the CFL lighting as I previously mentioned.
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Forgive me, Guy, but i know no such thing. It is well known that CFLs produce UV light and that cataracts can be caused by UV light, so it should not be surprising that I made such a connection.
So what do you believe is the connection between your affected mantids and the CFL? I am aware that there is no health risk to humans from CFLs and found this: "A human would have to be surrounded by thousands of ALZO full spectrum bulbs for many hours to receive the equivalent concentration of harmful UVB radiation of a few minutes of midday sunshin" at http://www.alzodigit...o_cfl_bulbs.htm.
So what is the scientific basis of your hypothesis, or do you believe that one person's guess is as good as another's? If the former, you would have avoided some mild confusion by giving the scientific basis for what has to be a most original observbation. I shall be interested to hear your explanation.
Last edited by a moderator:
Krissim Klaw
Well-known member
I've had spots do to eye rubbing. It occured in under a day. It happened with two of my Chinese mantises during a 7 hour car ride. I had gotten a cute metal screen cage to use for travel that was a touch smaller than the net cages I usually used. I also liked it because it was firm so no risk of collapsing if I crammed it into random places. The first time it happened I thought it was strange it occured so quickly but Chinese are very active and the stimulation of a car ride is enough to get them trying to move about and head butting the screen. It took it happening a second time for me to slap myself on the head and realize the metal screen was exacerbating things since I had never had a problem with eyespots appearing during similar trips when using the net screen cages. Went back to my net cages and haven't had a problem sense.I wouldn't be surprised if there are more than one way eye damage can be done. I should note on my cases of eye rubbing the spots were more of a dark brown. They didn't grow either once the mantises were returned to their usual cages. They were mild so not sure if they would have turned a deep black if the rubbing was extreme and over a longer period.
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Yeah, the car-ride injuries make sense, especially if they banged their eyes against the mesh when the car hit a bump or a rough patch Are you a steady driver, KK? 
rs4guy
Well-known member
No scientific data, just an inkling, BUT these are not humans, so until you can dig up an article about mantids vs CFLs, your point is also moot. Being that CFL's are also relatively new, I will take that data lightly. Espestos was harmless too for a long time if you remember. I feel the 2 are connected, and am going to try out a CFL at close range vs a traditional bulb in the same position.
Krissim Klaw
Well-known member
I wasn't the one driving during those trips. :scooter: I can see how Chinese mantises both caged and wild however can manage to ding their eyes up. They are a very head first type of bug. If something is in their way, they head butt it. I thought it was standard mantis practice, but I've noticed a lot of the other species I've tried are far less likely to use their heads as battering rams.Yeah, the car-ride injuries make sense, especially if they banged their eyes against the mesh when the car hit a bump or a rough patch Are you a steady driver, KK?
sinensispsyched
Well-known member
Some species throw their head in right after their claws after catching an insect. I have seen it in Chinese and BF mantises.
happy1892
Well-known member
My Stagmomantis carolina get black dots on their eyes (only a few of them got the black dots and those where the ones I have seen rubbing against the plastic because they were scared) even though I put them in a book shelf where it is dark, they were in a small 32oz container and did not have those dots.
