Creobroter L5 missing segment?

[Kodathekobold]

Hello! My Creobroter pictipennis Peridot molted to L5 yesterday. And now she appears to be missing a segment on her abdomen? If this normal? Or did she molt wrong? She's been eating crickets and flies mostly. I've been using Flower Power on her food. Nobody disturbed her while molting.
Here are some pictures

She is eating as right after this picture was taken a fly who got free earlier landed on my arm (what a mistake!) and she promptly caught and ate it. So that was pretty amazing.


Is she okay? Will her next molt repair her? Is she actually a guy?
I'm fairly new and Peridot is my first mantis and I'd hate to lose her.

Thank you for your time everyone!

 

[Jay]

Hi Koda,

Thanks for the question.

Though I am no expert I'll attempt to answer your questions based on my experience.

The mantisonline.de website does a good job of explaining how to determine the gender of this species.

As for the missing spike - my most tame and productive female spiny flower had a messed-up spike until her last molt - when the spike disappeared altogether. There were no negative consequences of this. Whether this situation arises due to inbreeding or due to some other factor I cannot say, but it should not cause any harm to the mantis unless it is an open area in the exoskeleton - in which case an abnormality in the exoskeleton could be prone to infection.

 

[Kodathekobold]

Thank you! She seems to be fine thus far. I'll keep an eye on her. She also may be a male based on what that website says...Hmm. Unfortunate.
Thanks again for the information!

 

[Jay]

No problem Koda.

Also - you may want to introduce yourself in the "Intro" part of the forum.

We generally do enjoy getting to know people.

 

[Kodathekobold]

Oh okay! I'll do that

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Thank you! She seems to be fine thus far. I'll keep an eye on her. She also may be a male based on what that website says...Hmm. Unfortunate.

Thanks again for the information!

She is a she. You can tell pretty easy at that age because females get that very noticable jutting sharp peice at the tip of their abdomen where the ovipositer will develope. I'm pretty sure I can count six segments even from the side photo you provided. My guess is your either not counting the tip seperatly or missing the one closest to the thorax.