Black Ghost Female

[patrickfraser]

She recently molted to adult and I was surprised with how black she is. I like the lighter and green colors, but she is too cool, too. Here are some photos.

 

[minard734]

That is epic man!!!

 

[gripen]

the charcoal morph cool!!

 

[lunarstorm]

Dude! She's gorgeous! I hope to eventually have an adult that looks similar from one of my ooths.

 

[ShieldMantid1997]

She looks burnt!

 

[meaganelise9]

man, that's crazy.

 

[lancaster1313]

Beautiful! :wub:

 

[Termite48]

I did not know there was such a color morph for the Ghosts. Let us know if this shows through to the offspring, or whether it is not genetic. Good luck, Scott!

 

[ShieldMantid1997]

I'm so jealous, my L5 female was this color at L3 &4 but lost it and turned dark brown once L5... good luck!

 

[leviatan]

creapy mantid

 

[psyconiko]

mat finish..The most beautiful blackish ghost ever!!!!

 

[Idolofreak]

Wow she pretty! :tt1: I have two sub or pre-sub black females right now. One of my females matured overnight. She's a really pretty green color with light brown wings. I'll post some pics of her soon.

 

[Termite48]

Scott, did the black color just appear in later instars, or did she show this color all along? I had a green male that lost the green once he became a subadult. Does this take a special humidity level?

 

[patrickfraser]

This female seemed to mature slower than her sisters, but they were kept identically. She was darker than her sisters, but this major black I only noticed after the final molt. I care for most of my mantids the same. Just regular feedings and spritzing, room temps, and I have a humidifier running all the time. I can move things around to get more natural sunlight if wanted, but I mostly rotate the mantids from front to back or back to front to allow equal exposure. I think mantids, like people, are all individuals. I don't do anything to inhibit specific changes (extra humid, dry, more sun or less sun, colored flowers, etc.). Enclosures are pretty bare, but for a climbing stick to reach the top. These colorations are "all them". It's cool to see how many different variations there are when kept identical. My blue flash are molting to adult and I am looking forward to what final colorations await. It has to be primarily genetics(recessive/dominant). I will be doing selective breeding of different color morphs and see what happens. I do love this dark coloring. :wub:

 

[agent A]

very cool mantis! i wonder if she mates if her nymphs will grow up like her

 

[Mex_Ghost]

such a beauty, congrats