Got wings!

[Elo500]

My first mantis (Stagmomantis californica) I had since L1 spouted wings. My records show she is now L8 unless I missed a molt. Do wings appear at the last molt or is there one more? Here are some pictures taken 3 days after the molt and you can see the wings are not laying flat. Is this normal?

 

[sally]

Very pretty ! The wings come on the last molt. Usually they lay flat , they won't hurt anything being puffy. It happens sometimes.

 

[ladygigi]

I've seen a few where the wings dried puffy. The only time I've read that it's been a problem is they sometimes get in the way when mating, but the mantises usually find a way around it fairly quickly.

 

[dgerndt]

Aw, she's a cutie!! Wings only develop in the last molt. She's all grown up!