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nicoledougherty

nicoledougherty

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 29, 2011
Messages
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Location
Rolling Hills Estates CA
Hi I'm new here and own Rudolph who I believe is a Chinese Mantis. He was hatched from an egg case last Summer in June. He's been eating and molting like a happy healthy fellow although ever since his first molt I recognized that he had one claw smaller than the other. He is now into his 6th or 7th molt and is not interested in catching his food anymore. I have supplied crickets and mealworms with a tweezer and have only had most luck with a cut up mealworm and if I drop the food he wont pick it up. he will only eat from the tweezer. If the food is too alive in the tweezer he freaks now where once before this last molt he was a great food catcher and eater. This is tiring and frustrating to me. I have tried to feed him raw ground beef and he loved it but he threw up black liquid after. Did I do something really bad to my poor mantis?!! He seems perfectly fine with still alot of energy. Just not as much in eating......

 
Welcome Nicole! You have a Chinese mantid there, male to be specific. In all mantid species (that I know of), males are the ones looking for the ladies. Once they become adult they do not eat nearly as much as their female counterparts as to keep a more 'portable' body. This is good not only to actively search for girls, but to evade predators and her death grip as well!

Nice job on rearing him to adulthood, Chinese are not one of the easier species. His one claw is slightly smaller due to some molting problems, which are highlighted in his wings. Normally mantid wings are held closely with the profile of the abdomen. As long as he still eats, great. Males tend to croak around this time in captivity, while I've had femaes live well into spring!

Black vomit is common in mantids that eat crickets from petstores, such as Petsmart or Petco. They aren't the greatest feeders to use, but you'll learn in no time if you peruse the boards a bit.

Enjoy!

 
guapoalto049 said:
I don't know, Paul. Not that I don't trust ya, but I see eight segments, thick antennae, and a slight build!
Click to expand...
Look carefully at the last segment. It looks more like female genitalia to me?

Hey Nicoledougherty, could you please take another pic of your mantids rear end.

I hope my eye sight is not going already? :unsure:

 
ismart said:
Look carefully at the last segment. It looks more like female genitalia to me?

Hey Nicoledougherty, could you please take another pic of your mantids rear end.

I hope my eye sight is not going already? :unsure:
Click to expand...
Haha don't worry Paul, the genitalia does look on the thin side to be the typical 'cup' shape for a male (not to mention a pretty wide abdomen for a male). However, look under the rear coxae; this is where the first of the eight abdominal segments begins. You can also see characteristically small 7th segment, followed by the 8th segment containing the genitalia.

The build to me is also characteristic of a male. More pics, if available, should clear this up :D

 
Would this picture help to find out sex? Either way he is such a polite little one. This is my first Mantis and I've never known any insect that turned to vomit the other way, stick his face up against a window to be with you, love a misting shower and put it's belly on your skin to feel warm....I sent some pics of these (misting shower and belly on hand) Thanks for your knowledge and input. Greatly appreciated :) )

 
What a little gentleman! Thank you for the photos, Nicole. The second photo confirms that your mantid is a male. All males have eight segments on their abdomen, starting after the rear pair of legs. The last segment of a male ends in an upward cup shape (like yours), while a female's looks similar to a flamingo beak.

 

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