hcarlton's Mantid Photos

[Okoboji22]

That's pretty cool that he has pink on him even as an adult, do you think the color is gonna stay?

 

[hcarlton]

I doubt color is going to change much from this point on; he'll stick with a peach eye spot and pink sides.

 

[Sticky]

Some beautiful mantids you got there! I'd be interested in a ooth or some little nymphs of your bark mantis. Maybe we could do a trade? Be prepared for the sphodromantis Lineola. My subadult female is a GIANT. Her tarsa hurt my skin when I hold her lol. My subadult male is a monster as well. He should be an adult any day. Your little Heterochaetas have convinced me to get some too?. I love grass mantis for some reason! Hatching a brunners ooth atm. And P. Walbergii... where to start... not amazing as tiny nymphs but sure is it rewarding when the coloration comes in! I have a around L6 female looking for a male! Bought a group of P. Ocellata because they are just like these guys but smaller. 

You should check out my collection if you want to see some bigger sphodromantis. I will be updating it soon with a whole lot of new molts and ooths.

What have you been feeding your mantids as theyve grown up? Diet certainly helps size!

 

[Connor]

What have you been feeding your mantids as theyve grown up? Diet certainly helps size!

Well I just meant older instars. The S. Lineola double in size like every molt. But I fed them on Dubias and BBF. The female is an adult now. Tried breeding her as she was over 3 weeks old. Gave her a full size giant adult female dubia before breeding. But my female Lineola still got a hold of my male and devoured him. She’s a complete monster lol. So now I’m on the lookout for another male

 

[Sticky]

Im sorry he's gone! That is so harsh! I hope you can find another male for her!

 

[Connor]

Im sorry he's gone! That is so harsh! I hope you can find another male for her!

Thanks. Yeah she doesn’t take prisoners I guess!

 

[hcarlton]

Perfect self-gift for the first day of Hannukah  

I caved and preordered these two a couple weeks ago, now just hoping I can make them retain their pink

Hymenopus coronatus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

Hymenopus coronatus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

Hymenopus coronatus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

Sassy mantis...

Hymenopus coronatus by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

 

[Connor]

Cute! I love little orchids. Can’t wait to breed mine and start hatching some ooths... dang females taking so long to sexually mature... I want to mate them now lol!

 

[Okoboji22]

Wow they are very pink for how small they are. I thought when they were that little they were all exactly the same :huh:

 

[Ocelotbren]

Cute babies!  I like the sassy one. 

 

[hcarlton]

I was expecting white mantids as well, but not disappointed...

Turns out, Mr. Pink did in fact lose all his pink

Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

Biggest of the grass mimics

Thesprotia graminis by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

A typical basalis, so I must assume..

Rhombodera basalis by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

And "Blue," a far lighter green/turquoise one. Thought it would darken after molting more than it did...

Rhombodera basalis by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

The male murderer...

Elmantis sp. by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

All hail His Stickness, king of the converted sweets container

Heterochaeta orientalis by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

 

[Ocelotbren]

Haha great pictures!  I'm getting antsy to get my own Rhomboderas but I'm waiting until after the holidays...

 

[Sarah K]

Wow they are very pink for how small they are. I thought when they were that little they were all exactly the same :huh:

I was thinking this batch seemed pretty pink myself for L2, as I was shipping everyone off to their new homes this week (I hatched those orchids...FYI ) But then I thought maybe I just forgot how pink they are at L2, since I haven't had any that young in a while! LOL. Glad to see they made it to thier new home safely eitherway @hcarlton! Enjoy!

 

[hcarlton]

The number of mantids in the house just sextupled...and the power went out tonight, so I did not get around to housing even a fifth of them yet I'm sure, but I did get some photos beforehand.

The ooth here also came from @Sarah K, about 4 weeks ago, and if I recall correctly the estimate given was probably around 100 nymphs. I think I've got at least double that . Bit of a headache, they don't stay still long enough to photograph easy or get into the cups and containers I have without chasing each one across m hands for 5 minutes...but oh, what a mild complaint, considering I've got a new species to work with.

Hierodula membranacea by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr





Hierodula membranacea by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

Hierodula membranacea by Hawken Carlton, on Flickr

 

[Aristalochia]

Very nice, congrats on the big hatch

 

[Serle]

Congrats & Happy C-Mas........... S

 

[Connor]

Congrats!

 

[CosbyArt]

@hcarlton Congrats on the hatch, and enjoy the babies. Looking at the photo I counted 78 nymphs, by heads and abdomens.

 

[hcarlton]

Looking at the photo you don't even get a sense of half of what's there. What's on the sides of the container is nearly matched by what was hanging on the lids, and then there's everyone on the bottom and the sticks within... I've set up at least 70 or 80 so far individually and still not halfway done (nor do I have anywhere near enough containers to get them all individually set up), so gonna be busy a while yet...

Thanks on the congrats everyone, though one mention to try and avoid future discomforts: sorry Serle, but I don't celebrate christmas.

 

[CosbyArt]

@hcarlton Sweet I agree making the seemingly endless nymph cups is very tiring. My first couple years in the hobby I made them up in large batches, and thankfully they are reusable.

I use a mix of 2oz and 3oz cups for them. For the mini lidded cups you can check at your local Walmart and Target department stores, they are sold in the party supplies area - and party supply stores too. For a cheaper price per cup they can be purchased in bulk from a local restaurant supply store, or "wholesale" store like Sam's club (the cups and lids are sold separate).

One thing that will help is the nymphs can be kept together given enough room, until at least L2 when cannibalism will start to be a concern. That will give you more time to make the cups, and sadly not all nymphs make it to the L2 stage (separated or not) as well.