Blepharopsis Consolidated

[agent A]

this is gonna work a lot like idolomantis consolidated, though it is for blepharopsis mendica!!!

i have 16 L3 nymphs, keeping in net cages with betula lenta branches, got them yesterday from tammy, very cute tiny little nymphs

keeping at 83 during the day, 68 at night, humidity is about 10% by day, 35% by night

feeding D.hydei and soon houseflies, when they eclose lol

anyone who has tips, questions or experience with these awesome guys please post here as well

here are a few pics of one:

close up of the cute face:

and this is real precious:

here is the caresheet for them from UKMF:

Species: Blepharopsis mendica mendica

Common Names: Thistle Mantis, Devils Flower Mantis, Lesser Devils Flower Mantis

Distribution: Northern Africa, Southern Mediterranian Europe, Canary Islands, Middle East. .

Natrual Habitat: Semi Desert, dry forest regions.

Captive Housing: General rule of 3 x the length of the mantid for height and 2 x the length for width, these mantids do best in all net cages as they are unable to grip smooth surfaces (a characteristic of all Empusidae). Polystyrene box type cages also works quite well as the mantids are able to grip the polystyrene surfaces however you most ensure that the enclousure is very well ventilated, these mantids originate from hot and arid areas and don't do well in humid conditions, very well ventilated enclousures will help in keeping the humidity down

Furnish the base of the container with a substrate such as Vermiculite, peat/vermiculite mix, sand or best yet ordinary kitchen roll.

A single twig placed diagonally is the furnishing your mantid will need 2 get from bottom of the container to the top, if you have more room fake/live plants can be added but the general is not to overcrowd the container with furnishings as they can impede moulting and cause more harm than good in the way of the mantid being caught by the funishings while moulting, in most cases the mantid will spend most of it's time at the highest point of the enclousure (the roof) from which it will moult hence the importance of a mesh/net top to aid the mantid in getting a good foothold.

It's best not to keep the mantid in too large a container as these are ambush predators and will generally wait for the food to come to them, large enclousures will decrease the frequency of predator coming into contact with the prey.

Temperature: 30C-40C daytime, these temperatures are easily obtained by using a normal 40-60W incandestant light bulb (Desk lamps are Ideal) above the enclousure, they also benefit from basking under the lamp. Do not worry about the drop in temperature during the night when lights are out and is in fact beneficial. The warmer the mantid is kept the higher its metabolism, this coupled with increased feeding will cause the mantid to grow quicker than at a cooler temperature with less feeding.

Humidity: Around 40% humidity, these mantids are best kept in hot dry conditions so they need for misting is not strictly necessary, however a very light mist in the early morning will replicate the formation of dew.

Feeding: Fruitflies (Drosphilia hydei) from 1st instar, increase the size of prey as the mantid grows, Feed flying type foods only! in the form of house flies, green bottles, bluebottles, moths etc.. on the rare occasion they will take locusts and roaches but these should not be used as a regular food source as the mantid matures crawling foods are more than likely to be ignored. Important. Do not offer B. mendica crickets like most other Empusa species these can have fatal results for the mantid.

Moulting: Mantids grow by Shedding (ecdysis) their skin, a newly hatched nymph is known as 1st instar and after each subsquent moult moves up an instar.

Signs of a imminent moult are a period of in activity, fasting, adopting a moulting postion and in sub-adult nymphs the swelling of the wingbuds, normally one or all of these signs will be noticed but they can at times take us by surprise.

Ensure any uneaten food is removed especially Locust and Roaches as the mantid can be vunerable when nearing, during and after a moult, either by knocking the mantid midmoult or the mantid becoming the prey itself.

"Tolerance" Factor: Are quite tolerant towards each other, even at higher instars as long as food is plentyful, however splitting the sexes is preferable. It is not recommended to keep this species communally if you only have a small number of nymphs.

Adult Size:

Females 55-70mm

Males 50-70mm

Breeding:

Sexual Diamorphism: can be sexed from 3rd instar onwards, due to the presence of a very small "hook" on the last abdominal segment of the male, this "hook" is absent in females

Females: 5 abdominal segments.

Males: 6 abdominal segments. From 5th instar the base of the antenne start to thicken, and become thicker and "feathery" after each subsequent moult.

Adult Females: Larger and bulkier than males, wing tips end at tip of abdomen. Absence of "feathery" antenne

Adult Males: Slender, wing tips extend about 10mm past tip of abdomen.

Thick feathery antenne.

Mating: Sexual maturity occurs as early as 2 weeks after reaching adulthood, they can be mated earlier but the chances of unsuccessful matings and the female attacking the male are significantly increased.

Laying: Females will in most cases start lay their 1st ootheca after 3 weeks of being adult, with intervals of around 7 days for each subsequent ooth dependant on frequency of feeding and temperature.

10+ oothca can be laid during the females adult lifetime.

Incubation: Approx 4-6 weeks (temperature dependent) mist incubation chamber very lightly every other day, incubation temperature around 30-40C. (I have had successful hatches without misting the ooths at all during incubation)

Hatching: Approx 20-50 nymphs

1st instars (hatchlings) approx 5mm insize, they will not need feeding till 3 days after hatching but will benefit from a daily light mist with warm water to allow them to drink, they will take D. hydei fruitflies as 1st instars. Very low hatchling/1st instar mortality rates.

Additional Note: This stunning mantis is not suit to people starting out in the hobby due to conditions needed to successfully raise them, however with proper care and feeding they are a very rewarding species.

i will add my own caresheet soon, after i finish one

 

[gripen]

cool thread i hope to contribute eventually.

 

[guapoalto049]

B. mendica is a slow-growing species. I've had success feeding mine honey fed flies coated with pollen, as well as scrap-fed lobster roaches.

They are very high strung, when touched they always snap their heads and begin a threat pose. By far the most athletic Empusidae I've seen, not wobbly and clumsy like Gongylus and Idolomantis. I've never purposely kept the enclosure dry, though I hardly mist them ever. I did not have success keeping communally, they seem aggressive towards each other, particularly at high temperatures.

This is a hardy species, no mismolts or special requirements (other than heat).

 

[agent A]

my heat lamp makes things bone dry lol

 

[ismart]

my heat lamp makes things bone dry lol

That's okay, because that's how they like it! I kept some years ago! I ended up with all males though. you could increase the temps to 90F - 95F during the day.

They like it hot!

 

[Termite48]

I have my two L-3's together in a 32 oz. deli-container with the sponge designs as provided by SPOREWORLD. They are both now catching and trying to eat an entire BB. They are able to do that, but it is a big jump from taking down melanogasters last week, to HF early this week, and today as an experiment, the BBs. I think they are very aggressive eaters. I have seen no tthreatening postures from either of them toward each other.

 

[gripen]

wow i would not expect them to take down bbs! also sporeworld you really should sell your enclosures they are great!

 

[hibiscusmile]

They require no water, so do not mist, occasionaly u can put a drop on your finger and offer to them or a qtip, but if you mist them, they will eventually die.

 

[agent A]

I just spritz water in my room and a little eventually creeps over and makes their humidity about 35%, I'm sure its all they need

 

[agent A]

here are pics of some stuff:

net cage:

my hydrothermometer:

and my heat lamp:

here are some blephs in the net cage, sorry if it's blurry:

as a bonus, before precarious' fly method, i kept flies in a net cage, i fed them honey and when i smeared it on the walls, i rang a dinner bell lol:

 

[meaganelise9]

B. mendica is a slow-growing species. I've had success feeding mine honey fed flies coated with pollen, as well as scrap-fed lobster roaches.

They are very high strung, when touched they always snap their heads and begin a threat pose. By far the most athletic Empusidae I've seen, not wobbly and clumsy like Gongylus and Idolomantis. I've never purposely kept the enclosure dry, though I hardly mist them ever. I did not have success keeping communally, they seem aggressive towards each other, particularly at high temperatures.

This is a hardy species, no mismolts or special requirements (other than heat).

I've had a different experience. Mine has never shown me a threat pose and has been very easy-going and docile. I also had a bit of a mismolt the day after I got him, losing most of a leg, which grew back completely by adult.

 

[sporeworld]

Good luck with this thread.

I never had "thistles" as I was calling them, except for a few ooths that hatched, and got sent off to others.

I know Phil was doing some experiemnts with them, so maybe he can chime in.

And thanks for the good words on the enclosure. Sadly, about 8 of them are sitting dormant... waiting for my 2012 season to start... (oh, what will it be...?)

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Like Sporeworld I hope you have a great turn out on this thread, if people pool there knowledge together it can be very rewarding!

One thing I can add is female Mendica can take a VERY long time to turn adult, so plan your males out well if you intend to mate them.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[agent A]

I'm gonna sort them by sex at L4 and keep the female warmer at night with my infrared bulb so they grow fast , hope that works out well

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Yes, keeping the males cooler and the females hot should help, just be sure they all still get a temp drop at night, at least somewhat.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Well done, Alex. I can add some stuff on empusids in general, size of ooth, hatching time, etc,tomorrow, if you like. Right now, I'll just say something about RH. Your day time RH of 10% is extremely low for just about any insect anywhere. I imagine that you were remembering that Tunisia is a collecting ground for this species, and Tunisia is the home of the Sahara.where the afternoon humidity can be down to 5%. But B. mendica doesn't live in the desert. The northern region in which it lives has between 5-15" rainfall annually depending on the area. The supposed AR for my Yuma is under around 3.6" (I say supposed, because it has been below that for a long time now) and in the afternoons of the driest month the RH will seldom drop below 15% so 20% should be a minimum. Is your house naturally that dry?

In the wild, mantids can suss out the moistest area possible for molting, but that can be much harder to do in a homogenous, controlled environment. I think that such a low humidity may induce bad molts. Another, practical reason for a rather higher humidity is that many elctronic hygrometers won't measure below 10%RH, so you could run into trouble there. O.K. that's it for now.

BRW, didn't we already srart a care sheet on this species with Tammy's pix? No matter,; we can "consolidate" them later!

 

[agent A]

Ok I will be sure of it

Hey does anyone have any idea when they'll molt to L4??

Phil my heat lamp sucks all the moisture from the air, I may need to mist them more

 

[twolfe]

I haven't even been raising this species for a year yet. So, I'm certainly not an expert. I did start with L2s that were shipped to me at the end of May. And I have had some success in breeding this species and hatching the ooths (4 so far). The key points for this species has been covered above: higher temps and lower humidity

guapoalto049 & Meagan, I had 6 adults (3 males/3 females). My males were more docile. They are all gone now, but I still have my 3 adult females. My females do give me a partial threat pose. They sometimes back away and raise their raptorial/grasping legs when I try to give them mealworms or something as emergency food, but mine never give me a full threat pose like the p. wahlbergii and some other species. They never raise their wings for me.

Phil, I posted a few pictures, but I don't think there is a caresheet on this forum. I consulted the one on the UK forum. Most of their information is good but if you mist them daily as they say, you may kill them! I do keep my Mendicas on the dry side, but I think it's hard to get an accurate reading under the heat lamp. Like Alex' mine often doesn't display a number unless I've misted something nearby.

Alex, the molt to L4 may take a little longer than the molt to L3. They could start molting to L4 as early as January 3 - 5. We'll have to see. The majority of my nymphs are L1s right now from my last two ooths that hatched. I only have a couple of L3s right now as I ended up selling most of mine. The person I originally got mine from told me not to spray them. I've misted mine lightly once a week only because it is so dry in my house in the winter and they are right under a heat lamp. People will need to adjust based on the conditions in their home. If you're going to mist to raise humidity, I'd start by misting a paper towel instead of misting the nymphs directly. I think when one sees a mismolt, there is a tendency to mist all of them, but I wouldn't do that with this species.

I never made an attempt to slow down my males. Though my males did molt first, but they lived long enough to mate with the females. I know Nick and another person had females that took much longer. I'm not sure why.

 

[agent A]

Well after a good spraying I got the humidity up to 58%, but within about 2 minutes later the humidity went back down to like 45%, man that heat lamp dries things up fast!!!