First Adult Mesopteryx alata.

[Malakyoma]

This molt was a surprise. Soup wasn't showing any signs of molting. He ate, his wingbuds weren't swolen, he seemed to be hanging out as normal. On the other hand my majuscula's wings have been swolen for a few days. So I keep checking up on them to see if they're molting yet, and last night when I did my evening misting I found soup molting to adult! Soup is now an adult male mesopteryx, waiting on his lady friends to follow suit.

I'll post pics of the others when they molt in this thread. Otherwise, any requests?

 

[Mime454]

Looks almost like an anorexic tenodera.

 

[agent A]

Looks like a tenodera

 

[D_Hemptress]

"soup" i love it name, that great!

 

[Danny.]

Looks almost like an anorexic tenodera.

Or a anorexic limbata in the second pic.

 

[twolfe]

Wow. You have an adult already. I thought mine were ahead of yours, but none of mine have molted to adults yet. I've been raising mine communally though, and they may not get enough food. I noticed they've been giving each other threat poses lately. I may need to separate them.

Soup is an interesting name for a pet mantis...

 

[Malakyoma]

Wow. You have an adult already. I thought mine were ahead of yours, but none of mine have molted to adults yet. I've been raising mine communally though, and they may not get enough food. I noticed they've been giving each other threat poses lately. I may need to separate them.

Soup is an interesting name for a pet mantis...

They're that communal you can keep them together to subadult? I never kept any of them together because I didnt want to risk losing a single one to cannibalism. of the 15 I received, only 1 mismolted and I have 14 left. I'm quite happy with that percentage.

For everyone commenting on his name, I like to use part of the scientific name of a species to name them. So here's how I deduced Soup's name

Mesopteryx alata

Mesopteryx alata

Meso is like Miso

Miso is a type of Soup

Tada

I'm not very original lol.

 

[Malakyoma]

And yes the males look like Tenodera, but the females are bulkier with stubby wings and bright green. Very different from the males. I can't wait for one of mine to molt so I can show you guys.

 

[twolfe]

They're that communal you can keep them together to subadult?

I have too many mantids right now to keep all of them separate. I do have my Orchids separated as well as most adults. I have the most problem with cannibalism at L2/L3. These guys crawl all over each other, and even when I was low on food at times, they never tried to grab one another. They do grab flies from each other.

So far I haven't lost any to cannibalism. I sold 6, lost 2 to mismolts (one while I was just away a few days ago), and I have 16 of them left.

 

[hierodula]

How long is he??? Awesome mantis BTW looks great

 

[Malakyoma]

Here's a video of Soup eating a mealworm.

http://youtu.be/sFchwNQp_Zk

 

[agent A]

I have too many mantids right now to keep all of them separate. I do have my Orchids separated as well as most adults. I have the most problem with cannibalism at L2/L3. These guys crawl all over each other, and even when I was low on food at times, they never tried to grab one another. They do grab flies from each other.So far I haven't lost any to cannibalism. I sold 6, lost 2 to mismolts (one while I was just away a few days ago), and I have 16 of them left.

I'll take a few off your hands if u want :shifty:

 

[hibiscusmile]

Good looking guy! he should be about 7"?

 

[Precarious]

Nice. My second female became adult tonight. The adult male should be ready to breed soon.

I also raised mine communally. Started with 5. Only lost one to a female sub. So long as you give them plenty of space and food they do pretty well together.

They look kind of like a cross between Tenodera and Brunneria. Very long and thin. I got quite a bit of color variation between mine. I'll post photos when I get a chance.

Here's something odd. My first female's wings only extent to about 2/3 the length of the abdomen. The female who molted tonight has wings that cover all but the last segment. Never saw that in any other species. She's definitely female and larger than the males so no mistakes in sexing.

 

[agent A]

Here's something odd. My first female's wings only extent to about 2/3 the length of the abdomen. The female who molted tonight has wings that cover all but the last segment. Never saw that in any other species. She's definitely female and larger than the males so no mistakes in sexing.

Gynandromorph???

Its possible...

 

[Malakyoma]

Nice. My second female became adult tonight. The adult male should be ready to breed soon.

I also raised mine communally. Started with 5. Only lost one to a female sub. So long as you give them plenty of space and food they do pretty well together.

They look kind of like a cross between Tenodera and Brunneria. Very long and thin. I got quite a bit of color variation between mine. I'll post photos when I get a chance.

Here's something odd. My first female's wings only extent to about 2/3 the length of the abdomen. The female who molted tonight has wings that cover all but the last segment. Never saw that in any other species. She's definitely female and larger than the males so no mistakes in sexing.

Really? Everything I've seen on the females shows them with stubby little wings that barely reach half their abdomen. I dont have any myself yet but every picture I've seen.

 

[Precarious]

Really? Everything I've seen on the females shows them with stubby little wings that barely reach half their abdomen. I dont have any myself yet but every picture I've seen.

Positive. Check these photos I just took. As you can see they extend nearly to the end of her abdomen and they lack the bold stripe on the side that the males have. She is 4.5". The male is 4".

No mistaking that is a female abdomen. You can clearly see the spout at the end. Plus the females are much bulkier than males.

 

[Malakyoma]

First time I've ever seen wings on a female that long. then again they ARE new to culture so everything is a learning experience. I plan on keeping mine for a number of generations. Great pics as usual

 

[Mime454]

Are these as aggressive as Tenodera? They seem pretty neat!