He or She?

[agent A]

is this wahlbergii a fergie wahlbergii (hey, a rhyme!) or a macho aggressive male?

last pic is of it in its cage (biosphere habitat!)

this one has me stumped. other 3 are males. this one is most aggressive and eats in the most odd patterns.

 

[mantisfart2]

I would say female but am not 100% sure on this, can you take a pic from the side that focuses on the abdomen? How does its antenna length compare to your others? longer? shorter or same?

 

[agent A]

I would say female but am not 100% sure on this, can you take a pic from the side that focuses on the abdomen? How does its antenna length compare to your others? longer? shorter or same?

this ones antennae are a little on the short side I think. I'm gonna try to get a side view pic, just hang in there. Man this is a stumper, but I have a feeling it's a female, but I can't follow my gut on this one.

 

[agent A]

here are the requested pictures, plus a few threat pose pics for fun!

 

[Katnapper]

Looks like a male to me... but of course I could be wrong.

 

[Mantibama]

I can't offer any help, but I'm digging the biosphere!

 

[agent A]

I can't offer any help, but I'm digging the biosphere!

I got it from the discovery store!

 

[ABbuggin]

Looks like a male.

 

[Opivy]

your enclosure looks crazy futuristic!

 

[kookamonga]

that container is really awesome...Been searching for awhile this morning since I saw this post trying to find and existing link for where i can buy this :<. Lots of websites say discovery store sells it but when I search for it I haven't found it XD. If anyone can pm me an existing link for it I'd be much obliged :>. I'm going to email them and ask about it. I MUST HAVE THIS TERRARIUM!

 

[agent A]

your enclosure looks crazy futuristic!

thank you

 

[agent A]

it's a male!!! <_< now I need a fergie wahlbergii or 2 so they can get to work when older and I can have babies of them!

 

[BellsBird]

I totally agree that your little mantis kingdom dome is so awesomely cool :lol:

 

[wangi]

I didn't think you could tell the gender of nymphs at all. So longer antennae and more aggressive = probably female nymph? I'm guessing it's not 100% certainty?

 

[Katnapper]

I didn't think you could tell the gender of nymphs at all. So longer antennae and more aggressive = probably female nymph? I'm guessing it's not 100% certainty?

Aggression really has nothing to do with it. Some species exhibit differences in anntenae structure and length; but counting segments (from the underside), and the physical characteristics of the end segments is the main way to sex them. See Rick's sticky thread about it HERE.

 

[yen_saw]

looks like 6 'spikes' on the abdomen = male.

Try not to over-crowd the cage and provide more ventilation if possible, or the humidity can build up which promote moulding.

 

[agent A]

looks like 6 'spikes' on the abdomen = male.Try not to over-crowd the cage and provide more ventilation if possible, or the humidity can build up which promote moulding.

the humidity is about 51% most of the time. hey, do you happen to have any extra female wahlbergiis? also, is 30-40% humidity okay for ghosts?

 

[kookamonga]

the humidity is about 51% most of the time. hey, do you happen to have any extra female wahlbergiis? also, is 30-40% humidity okay for ghosts?

that sounds prety low for Ghost :<. 60-90 is standard i think ?

 

[PhilinYuma]

that sounds prety low for Ghost :<. 60-90 is standard i think ?

This is a trickier question than it sounds. Ghosts can, in fact, survive in an ambient humidity of about 30%RH. I have kept them under these conditions continuously for the past 15 months. Remember that if you mist their pot twice daily and use a paper substrate, about 12 hrs a day will still be at ambient humidity. The problem comes at molting time, and though I currently only have one surviving ghost (l5), it has never mismolted with one misting/day in an environment of 30% humidity (it is currently 35% in my bug room, but will be 20% in the summer).

In order to maintain a significantly higher humidity in a pot, when the ambient is around 30%, it is necessary to use peat moss and keep it continually moist. This can lead to "moisture traps" if the keeper is not very careful, and at least one port (preferably two) should be opened daily to promote circulation. Both I and a number of other breeders (Ismart for example) have done this with flower mantids in particular, and found that the percentage of mismolts in the final instar can be reduced to almost zero, but it significantly increases the daily work involved. If you like to chuck in a few pupae every few days, and leave the nymphs to it, I do not recommend this method.