Do I have a pair?

[Ricardo]

greetings everyone. Here's a little update on my violin scoop .

So anyways, after discovering the 4 survivors, one just seemed to drop dead a day later , and another I found neck severed at the bottom of the enclosure, which I suspect was the work of crickets. The last two are active, eating, and have been making me a very happy guy. It's nice to see these two doing so well , and I thought it would be spectacular if they were different genders.

So here is my description of them, and I was wondering if you could elaborate on whether or not you think they are a pair.

One of them, has a neck which is rather curved in comparison to the other, and over all this one is a bit shorter/smaller , as are its antennae. It's also more spunky and attacks crickets wwaaay more then the other.

The second is bigger, a bit more healthy looking, and it's neck is much more erect, very straight. It's also a bit more timid.

After much observation over the past few days I notice the two spend a lot of time sticking together,and seem comfortable.

Right now I reckon they are L2 and was curious. Is there a chance that from all the mantids that didn't make it , the surviving two are the opposite genders?

 

[patrickfraser]

LOL. Love the title

 

[Ricardo]

LOL. Love the title

...? want to contribute or elaborate? lol

 

[kitkat39]

one question for you.. are YOU feeling lucky? ;-)

You're gonna have to try to take pictures or count the segments yourself. I'm usually too lazy to even try to sex them until their later stages where males will just have the feathery looking antenna. You never really know.. sometimes you DO end up with a pair once they're adult.. other times, you could get 6 of something and they all turn out to be the exact same sex and you just end up giving your co-workers dirty looks all day long while at work. :lol:

 

[patrickfraser]

...? want to contribute or elaborate? lol

I just thought that you would know best whether or not you had a "pair".

 

[Ricardo]

I just thought that you would know best whether or not you had a "pair".

ooohhh I get it. You so funny Pat lol

 

[Rick]

From your descriptions there is no way to know. It isn't hard to sex nymphs.

 

[hibiscusmile]

The curved neck one is victim of bad molt, should be fine though, at this stage they are rather tiny to tell whos butt belongs to who!

 

[Termite48]

I have L-2 Violins and they are not at all as small as some of the L-2 of a species like the Ghost mantis. An L-3 of a Ghost is smaller (usually) than a Violing L-2. Also they become darker and more highlighted in coloration once they have their first (out of the ooth) molt or (moult if you are a Brit). Wait till they molt one more time, and it will be a lot easier to see the physical differences between sexes.

 

[patrickfraser]

I have L-2 Violins and they are not at all as small as some of the L-2 of a species like the Ghost mantis. An L-3 of a Ghost is smaller (usually) than a Violing L-2. Also they become darker and more highlighted in coloration once they have their first (out of the ooth) molt or (moult if you are a Brit). Wait till they molt one more time, and it will be a lot easier to see the physical differences between sexes.

Maybe you'll be able to find a pair after the next moult. LOL

 

[Ricardo]

From your descriptions there is no way to know. It isn't hard to sex nymphs.

It ISN'T hard? Interesting! any chance you could give me some pointers?

 

[dgerndt]

I'm pretty sure Rick meant to say it IS hard to sex nymphs. At least when they're still so young. You can try counting segments, but you'll probably have to just wait until they molt one or two more times.

 

[MantisNation]

Ricardo, I find gongies quite tricky to sex at the young stages... I thought I had 2 females until rather recently when i noticed one had feather antennae and the other was short and thin.. Do you have any pics of the little guys?