Found another mantis!

[shaneckc]

This little guy was hanging out in front of my garage today. Looks like a male, but I'm not sure what species he is. Got him to walk around on my hands for a few, and tried to feed him before I moved him into Geoffrey's habitat for now. I set Geoffrey up in a small Tupperware container until I figure out what to do with both of them. He would not eat when I tried to give him some prey. I tried a small spider and a moth but no dice. He attacked the prey a bit but did not try to eat it.





Any thoughts on what species or maturity he is?

 

[agent A]

L4ish stagmomantis species of some sort

 

[jrh3]

probably s. california considering your location.

 

[shaneckc]

Is it true that californica can be either green or brown? I'm starting to think that perhaps Geoffrey is a californica, as well.

 

[shaneckc]

So, Juan won't eat. He seems to attack his prey when they get near or he just runs away. He just stood there and watched as his current feeder insect crawled right in front of him across his habitat. I'm thinking he might be ready to molt but I have no idea.







Any input??

 

[ScienceGirl]

Not sure on the species, but the abstinence of eating in captivity is normal for wild mantids. They should eat within a few days, otherwise they should be released.

Good luck!

 

[Nicolas]

How are they doing to this day?

 

[MantidLord]

THat looks more like Litaneutria than stagmomantis, guys.

 

[hierodula]

hes probably getting ready to molt. Remove food from his container and give him a little extra water.