Cat Eyed Mantis

[vickyXD]

Hi Guys, 

Picked up my 5th Mantis this morning. Its a cat eyed mantis, 3 months old, and about 4-5 inches long already  

Does anyone know if they require anything specific. The man in the pet shop was none too sure about them 

thanks 

vicky 

 

[Rick]

What species is "cat-eyed mantis"?

A 5 inch mantis is huge, even larger than an adult Tenodera. 

 

[vickyXD]

Its official name is - heterocheeta orientalist. 

 

[Rick]

Its official name is - heterocheeta orientalist. 

Ok that makes more sense. This is the problem with common names in this hobby, some species have more than one common name and more seem to be made up all the time. 

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

I was confused at first as well, anyway, beautiful mantis!

 

[MantisMatt14]

That is definitely at least a year old, they do not grow that fast, who ever told you she was that young is wrong

 

[Extrememantid]

That is definitely at least a year old, they do not grow that fast, who ever told you she was that young is wrong

Does Heterochaeta have a rather long life? Because that looks like a sub or pre-sub mantid, and a year is a fairly long time to get to that point for most species. 3 months seems young though.

 

[LAME]

Does Heterochaeta have a rather long life? Because that looks like a sub or pre-sub mantid, and a year is a fairly long time to get to that point for most species. 3 months seems young though.

Bobericc would know.

 

[happy1892]

You got them from a pet shop?  Where are you from?

 

[MantisMatt14]

Oh yes a very long life, took one of my pairs to reach adulthood from 2nd instar over a year! Then they lived for another 6-8 months. This one is easily over 8 months old!

 

[baskmantids]

Can you share where you picked this beauty up??

 

[happy1892]

Oh yes a very long life, took one of my pairs to reach adulthood from 2nd instar over a year! Then they lived for another 6-8 months. This one is easily over 8 months old!

Wow!  What temperatures did you keep them at?  Around 85F?

 

[vickyXD]

Thanks for all of the replies. I live in the UK and got it from my local exotic pet shop. I thought it was a bit too big to be just 3 months old. Never mind. I'm still enjoying having him as part of my collection.

 

[MantisMatt14]

Wow!  What temperatures did you keep them at?  Around 85F?

I kept them even lower until the summer so about 75F to 80F. They grew pretty slow for sure!