First L4 nymph is a female!!!
Blepharopsis Consolidated
- Thread starter agent A
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I have at least 2 L4 nymphs now, not much problem in the molting department, they seem to like to molt in the evening for some reason 
At least 5 are L4 now, 2 females and 3 males, the L4 are now eating again and they r loving the houseflies, I'm pretty sure all 16 r still alive, eating and some will be L5 in no time if they keep eating as much as they do lol
They seem to molt when the light is out or humidity is up a bit, we lost power for an hour here and during that time 1 molted
Very entertaining little guys
They seem to molt when the light is out or humidity is up a bit, we lost power for an hour here and during that time 1 molted
Very entertaining little guys
Agreed
Is it as drastic from L4 to L5???
Is it as drastic from L4 to L5???
Reminds me of the size jumps in popa
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meaganelise9
Well-known member
I was wondering if you guys had the same experience with feeding as I had. Mine was always a good eater. He would eat anything and plenty of it. Now that he's done growing, he won't go for crawling feeders as much, but loves flies, moths, etc.
Mine eat anything that flies lol
I'm used to it, for every female fbt at a petstore there r at least 5 males
I have 4 known males and 2 known females of Blepharopsis mendica
I have 4 known males and 2 known females of Blepharopsis mendica
I didn't notice it the first time around when I got my nymphs. I had about 20 of them. I traded 6 of the nymphs. I sprayed them too much in the beginning and lost some in the early instars. Of the 14 I had left after the trade, 7 made it to sub adults (four females and three males). I lost one female to a mismolt and ended up with three adult males and three females.
I sold almost all of my nymphs from the first two ooths that hatched and kept 7 that were behind in molts or were runts. The smallest runt didn't make it. The remaining six should be L4 by now, but a couple of them are still on the small side. I haven't tried to determine the sex yet. I'll be keeping more from my next ooths.
I sold almost all of my nymphs from the first two ooths that hatched and kept 7 that were behind in molts or were runts. The smallest runt didn't make it. The remaining six should be L4 by now, but a couple of them are still on the small side. I haven't tried to determine the sex yet. I'll be keeping more from my next ooths.
Ok so here is the count now:
All 16 remain
6 are still L3
5 L4 are male
5 L4 are female
They eat a dozen houseflies a day total
All 16 remain
6 are still L3
5 L4 are male
5 L4 are female
They eat a dozen houseflies a day total
Can Tammy give us an approximate number of days spent at each instar? I'm curious to know how long my blephs will be at L4 with plenty of food
Thanx
Thanx
sporeworld
Well-known member
Hey, Agent A.
The idea with "Idolomantis Consolidated", was to have the info at the top of the thread, and then update it as we progressed and collected more information (hence, the "Consolidated" part).
To confess (again), I've never personally done this species (I hatched several ooths for a friend, and fed the L1-L2 nymphs). But I HAVE collected a lot of info in anticipation of doing them eventually (and en masse). Here are my collected notes. Maybe you can add or take away, then edit them into your openning post.
Thanks!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BLEPHAROPSIS MENDICA (Thistle Mantis)
Species: Blepharopsis mendica mendica
COMMON NAMES:
Thistle Mantis, Egyptian flower mantis, Arab mantis, Lesser Devils Flower Mantis, (erroneously identified as "Devil's flower mantis")
DISTRIBUTION:
Northern Africa, Southern Mediterranian Europe, Canary Islands, Middle East.
NATRUAL HABITAT:
Semi Desert, dry forest regions.
SIZE:
Adult Female 55-70mm
Adult Males: 50-70mm
RECOMENDED DIET:
Flying foods -Fruit Flies, House Flies, Blue Bottles, Moths. In general, fod should be roughly 1/3 the size of the mantis, or less. Hydei are generally reported to be suitable for 1st and 2nd instars.
HOUSING:
Well ventilated, hot and dry. Enclosures for single specimens must be at least 3x the size of the mantid.
TEMPS:
Recommended temps range from 75-86F on the cool side, to 86-104 on the hot side. A consistent temp of 85F seems ideal.
HUMDITY:
Spraying these nymphs is still in debate. Most recommend to spray them less than once a week, with others suggesting no spraying at all. Most agree that a consistent RH (relative humidity) of 30% is a good target. It has been reported that ANY spraying can be lethal to nymphs, although this is still being disputed.
COMMUNAL:
Yes, if well fed. Of course, with all mantids, cannibalism is possible.
SEXING NYMPHS:
From L3, males will have a tiny hook on the last abdominal segment.
Males have 6 abdominal segments, while females have only 5 segments.
LIGHT CYCLES
It is still unknown if alternating night and day cycles is has any effects on the health of these mantids.
SUBSTRATE:
Common Substrates such as Paper Towel, Coconut fiber, Sphagnum Moss, Peat Moss, and Sponges are all acceptable.
MATING:
Sexual maturity for females reached 3 weeks after final molt (or slightly less).
An increase in temps is necessary to induce mating, with some sources recommending temps as high as 113F. Temps can drop back down to 85f or so, after mating with no ill-effects on ooth production.
LAYING OOTHS:
Up to 10 ooths can be laid by a single female with roughly a week or so between each ooth laid. First ooth can be layed after 3 weeks. Up to 14 ooths have been reported from a single female.
OOTH CARE:
Expect to see nymphs between 4 and 6 weeks. Ooths should be kept relatively dry, between 30-40% RH. Expect between 20-50 nymphs, with 62 the highest I found recorded. Successful incubation has been reported with temps around 30-40C.
The idea with "Idolomantis Consolidated", was to have the info at the top of the thread, and then update it as we progressed and collected more information (hence, the "Consolidated" part).
To confess (again), I've never personally done this species (I hatched several ooths for a friend, and fed the L1-L2 nymphs). But I HAVE collected a lot of info in anticipation of doing them eventually (and en masse). Here are my collected notes. Maybe you can add or take away, then edit them into your openning post.
Thanks!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BLEPHAROPSIS MENDICA (Thistle Mantis)
Species: Blepharopsis mendica mendica
COMMON NAMES:
Thistle Mantis, Egyptian flower mantis, Arab mantis, Lesser Devils Flower Mantis, (erroneously identified as "Devil's flower mantis")
DISTRIBUTION:
Northern Africa, Southern Mediterranian Europe, Canary Islands, Middle East.
NATRUAL HABITAT:
Semi Desert, dry forest regions.
SIZE:
Adult Female 55-70mm
Adult Males: 50-70mm
RECOMENDED DIET:
Flying foods -Fruit Flies, House Flies, Blue Bottles, Moths. In general, fod should be roughly 1/3 the size of the mantis, or less. Hydei are generally reported to be suitable for 1st and 2nd instars.
HOUSING:
Well ventilated, hot and dry. Enclosures for single specimens must be at least 3x the size of the mantid.
TEMPS:
Recommended temps range from 75-86F on the cool side, to 86-104 on the hot side. A consistent temp of 85F seems ideal.
HUMDITY:
Spraying these nymphs is still in debate. Most recommend to spray them less than once a week, with others suggesting no spraying at all. Most agree that a consistent RH (relative humidity) of 30% is a good target. It has been reported that ANY spraying can be lethal to nymphs, although this is still being disputed.
COMMUNAL:
Yes, if well fed. Of course, with all mantids, cannibalism is possible.
SEXING NYMPHS:
From L3, males will have a tiny hook on the last abdominal segment.
Males have 6 abdominal segments, while females have only 5 segments.
LIGHT CYCLES
It is still unknown if alternating night and day cycles is has any effects on the health of these mantids.
SUBSTRATE:
Common Substrates such as Paper Towel, Coconut fiber, Sphagnum Moss, Peat Moss, and Sponges are all acceptable.
MATING:
Sexual maturity for females reached 3 weeks after final molt (or slightly less).
An increase in temps is necessary to induce mating, with some sources recommending temps as high as 113F. Temps can drop back down to 85f or so, after mating with no ill-effects on ooth production.
LAYING OOTHS:
Up to 10 ooths can be laid by a single female with roughly a week or so between each ooth laid. First ooth can be layed after 3 weeks. Up to 14 ooths have been reported from a single female.
OOTH CARE:
Expect to see nymphs between 4 and 6 weeks. Ooths should be kept relatively dry, between 30-40% RH. Expect between 20-50 nymphs, with 62 the highest I found recorded. Successful incubation has been reported with temps around 30-40C.
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The information that Sporeworld added looks good!
OOTH CARE:
Expect to see nymphs between 4 and 6 weeks. Ooths should be kept relatively dry, between 30-40% RH. Expect between 20-50 nymphs, with 60 the highest I found recorded. Successful incubation has been reported with temps around 30-40C.
I may have a record if 60 was the highest found. My first four ooths that hatched produced between 40 - 45 nymphs. That was my best guess when I tried counting them. My 5th ooth produced 62 nymphs. My 6th ooth produced 58 nymphs. I actually counted the nymphs from the 5th & 6th ooths that hatched as I moved them from the deli container to the net enclosure. I haven't counted the nymphs from the 7th ooth yet.
My female that has produced all of the fertile ooths has laid 14 of them! The first and sixth ooths laid did not hatch. One was kept too wet and the other likely too hot. We'll see how many more hatch. I re-mated her a couple of times.
OOTH CARE:
Expect to see nymphs between 4 and 6 weeks. Ooths should be kept relatively dry, between 30-40% RH. Expect between 20-50 nymphs, with 60 the highest I found recorded. Successful incubation has been reported with temps around 30-40C.
I may have a record if 60 was the highest found. My first four ooths that hatched produced between 40 - 45 nymphs. That was my best guess when I tried counting them. My 5th ooth produced 62 nymphs. My 6th ooth produced 58 nymphs. I actually counted the nymphs from the 5th & 6th ooths that hatched as I moved them from the deli container to the net enclosure. I haven't counted the nymphs from the 7th ooth yet.
My female that has produced all of the fertile ooths has laid 14 of them! The first and sixth ooths laid did not hatch. One was kept too wet and the other likely too hot. We'll see how many more hatch. I re-mated her a couple of times.
sporeworld
Well-known member
Can someone give me a pronunciation guide for the listing as well...?
