Hello from Montana

kotomi · Aug 29, 2012

I'm 29, female and I've been a serious insect lover my whole life. I had bought and hatched a Chinese Mantis ootheca for my garden when I lived in Louisiana and loved watching the nymphs grow up in my garden. I went to the garden store again this year and saw some egg cases so I bought one. I set up a 29 gallon aquarium with a secure lid, and good lighting system and put the hatchlings in the cage. I was going to release most of them outside, but I decided to look and see if Montana was in their range (I had not been living here very long). I found out that Montana is not in their range... it kind of upset me that stores would sell ootheca in states where the nymphs would not survive... so I gave as many as I could away as pets and have been raising the rest. Now I am absolutely hooked on the little guys. I really can't wait to acquire some new species. I am hoping to get a few Ghosts next, since I hear they are also fairly easy to care for.

I did notice something odd about my current Chinese Mantises... some of them have eyes that turn dark at night (which I read about already), but some of their eyes stay green at all hours of the day and night.. I even have a couple that have one eye that turns dark and one eye that does not. Is this something unusual? The properties of their eye color do not seem to change with each molt..

Anyway, I'd love to hear about you, where you are from, and what kinds of mantises you keep? Is there anyone else from Montana on this forum? I have always been relatively alone in my love for insects, it would be wonderful to meet some other people who are as enraptured by them as I am..

kotomi · Aug 29, 2012

oh, I posted a few photos in an album for my profile, if anyone cares to look. I know that Chinese Mantids probably aren't all that exciting to most of you, but I still think they are wonderful. I also have a photo of one my mantids that has the dual colored eyes.