Empusa pennata...?

[Morpheus uk]

Poor little emp will never get a chance to get his groove on

 

[ThorEH]

Check with Christian, he has had Empusa for sale... perhaps you can strike a deal with him in some or another way ?

 

[Christian]

I do not sell them anymore. The ones that are left are to be overwintered.

Regards,

Christian

 

[Morpheus uk]

Do they overwinter as adults or nymphs? i thought only the oothacae?

 

[Christian]

Empusa overwinters in the larval stage, usually subadult.

Regards,

Christan

 

[buddhistsoldier88]

how did you sneak it on board?! maybe ill try it some time

 

[Morpheus uk]

In a thick clear plastis shallow tub, wth air holes, rapped in some towels and stashed in ma suuit case :lol:

 

[Morpheus uk]

Howed you go about overwintering them Christian?

Heres some updated pics, still hasnt shed but OMG! someone over here in england whent to spain a little while after me felt jealous and brought back a couple home!

I sence some breeding loans in the future

More of a unicorn mantis than a unicorn mantis!

 

[Morpheus uk]

No comments

Any idea how to overwinter them?'

At last he shed, looking forward for his friends to arrive lol, he didnt grow much in my eyes, but just turned colour

 

[Kruszakus]

Yeah - that's the funny thing - I have Idolomorpha lateralis and the horn is hella large as well - plus, they look a bit like a giant Empussa, but unfortunately with no lobes on the abdomen.

You keep your Empussa together?

 

[Morpheus uk]

No, only got the one, i wouldnt tho

 

[yen_saw]

Morpheus, i overwinter them in a cooler spot with only 6-8 "day-light" hour. I did it for about one month for 2 males and 2 females (both 2 molts from adult). After one month i brought them back to my bugroom with hot temp (90-95F) and longer bright hours, male seems to accept this and moulted twice into adult within a month, female doesn't seem to buy it and i only have a female moulted into subadult recently. So my guess is to "over-winter" them for a longer period of time of about 2-4 months. I still feed them during the overwnter period, but only once/twice a week. There is another thread that i have more details on how i was planning to overwinter them but couldn't find it. With winter time now it shouldn't be too difficult to keep them cooler. Best of luck!

 

[Morpheus uk]

Thx, so basicly you just keep them colder and not in sunlight as often?

I kept hearing things about sticking them in a fridge :blink:

 

[yen_saw]

Yep that is it Morpheus, it works for my male Empusa mantis for sure as they happily moult twice into adult in 2 weeks span coming out from the cooling period. Can't say the same for the female though, it would be great if you could overwinter the female longer and share the result here.

I have never used the fridge method so no idea how it works there.

 

[Christian]

Hi.

I overwinter them on the balcony at 0-3°C and a natural day cycle. If it get's colder, I take the cage inside. I don't feed them except on warmer days, but they do not eat much. Spraying is important, though. The overwintering period lasts from the subadult stage (approx. end of October/beginning of November) until end of March. The day cycle has to be changed to more than 12 h a day before or at the same time as the temperature raise.

Regards,

Christian