dramatic color change

[Lan]

here's a picture of my african mantis before his recent shed



and after he shed



looks like he got a nice tan. :lol:

can anyone tell me what species? or what instar? i think he's starting to develop wings.

 

[Ian]

yeah, looks like pretty large wing buds forming. I would day he/she was either sub, or sub sub adult.

The colour change is, most of the time, due to what temperature, light levels and humitity they are kept at.

Cheers,

Ian

 

[Jwonni]

where are the big bud wings? if possible puttuing a red circle round em and rehosting would be good

 

[Lan]

your wish has been granted

 

[Jwonni]

oh thx i think i know what your on about now

 

[Lan]

i'm guessing it's still too early to determine what species he is.

 

[Rick]

Looks like an african mantis to me.

 

[Lan]

yeah he's definitely an african mantis, but is he lineola/centralia/viridis?

 

[Rick]

Oh I don't know about that.

 

[KennethJ78]

count the yellowish - white dots on the inside of the coxa ( for-arms )

4 small dots = S. lineola

3 large dots = S. viridis

 

[DeShawn]

Looks like you have yourself a male lineola or centralis. I would guess sub sub-adult. The wing buds are still pretty small, although it is a tough call for the first 10 days after it sheds. I guess we will find out for sure in a month!

 

[Lan]

just thought i'd update: well my african mantis molted again and it took about 20 days in between.

before:



after:



after reading Ian's reply i increased the humidity of the enclosure by spraying every day, and this was the outcome. i did not change the temperature or provide any extra lighting. this color morph was caused solely by humidity. i just find it amazing how easy it is to influence the color. so cool...

 

[Ian]

Yeah! nice one! I did the same with my rubratsigmata, and the more humid, they more green, and the less humid produced dark brown colours.

Cheers,

Ian

 

[Rib]

I always tend to believe that the mantis I recieve of a lighter colour have been better looked after. You often notice that Mantids kept in cups in vast quantities and not looked after so much remain a darker colour due to the lack of humidity. This is only really obvious in the African species though. Can't really be helped if you have that many Mantids to keep I suppose unless you have alot of time to fill

 

[Jwonni]

my african is kept pretty humid as i only recently told my mam it didn't need to be high humidity until now she sprays like its monsoon season but she was quite green when i got her but after her first moult she got a lot greener and its a brighter deeper green so perhaps mine is also due to humiidty

 

[hortus]

ima try with my chinese

 

[Rib]

I had a dramatic colour change with my African Mantis yesterday

from

to

doesn't evewn look like the same Mantis

 

[Lan]

nice pics! i like the lighting. were you keeping your african mantis at a low humidity level too?

 

[Rib]

i wasn't no, but in fairness its turned a bright yellow rather than a dull sandy colour