European Mantis Age and Sex Help

[River Dane]

Recently got a European mantis, and I think he’s a he, but I want to be sure. Also want to know if anyone can guess the instar, because I can’t. 

EDIT: starting to lean more towards female. Still not sure.

 

[MantisGirl13]

She is definitely a female. I couldn't tell what instar she is, but I am thinking like L5-7? 

- MantisGirl13

 

[River Dane]

 Glad that she’s female, my time with her is not as short. Hopefully I can find her a mate, as well. Thanks for the help @MantisGirl13!

 

[Velve]

She is definitely a female. I couldn't tell what instar she is, but I am thinking like L5-7? 

- MantisGirl13

That's a male. Instar is likely L4 judging by the very small wingbuds, possibly L5. Hard to say without a real sense of scale.

 

[River Dane]

Thanks for the help @Velve! I didn’t realize I was supposed to count that last segment. I’ll try to measure him later, if that helps. Thanks for drawing it out, also!

 

[River Dane]

Here’s a picture of the mantis next to a ruler. I think it’s about an inch long.

EDIT: ~2.5 centimeters.

 

[River Dane]

How many instars does this species have?

 

[Velve]

How many instars does this species have?

Hard to say because the number of instars for M. religiosa seems to depend on locality/subspecies, with some requiring more, some less. Expecting them to be adult in L7/L8 for males/females is probably realistic.

Based on your picture I'd still say that it's most likely L4.

 

[River Dane]

Thanks so much for all the info! So I’ll expect the little guy to be an adult in about 3-4 molts. 

 

[MantisGirl13]

Sorry for the wrong info! I missed segments number 7 and 8, and the instar was only a guess, because I had no clue how big it was! Sorry!

- MantisGirl13

 

[River Dane]

No problem! I made the same mistakes when guessing, too. 

 

[MantisGirl13]

It can be hard to tell gender sometimes, especially on smaller mantids like Egyptian Pygmy and Indian Flower!

- MantisGirl13