Krissim Klaw
Well-known member
A couple months back I made a trade with a member on Mantid Forum for some Stagmomantis Carolina ooths. It was my first time with the species so when the oothecae arrived I just sort of assumed they were indeed Stagmomantis carolina ooths. I've always been rather terrible at IDing critters I've never personally seen in the flesh and the ootheca looked similar to photos I pulled up on google search.
As the nymphs from the ootheca started to get older, I probably should have noticed they weren't looking structurally right, but once again I just went with the flow, assuming they were what I thought they where. Whelp, a couple days back my first female molted to adulthood and it was quickly apparent to me that she was no carolina mantis. Upon her back was a glistening pair of fullsize wings, not the little half wings Stagmomantis carolina female mantids get.
It didn't take me long to pin down what I am pretty sure the species is, a Tenodera angustipennis. Everything about them just seems to fit right down to the ootheca, which apparently are sometimes mistaken by less experienced people as being from carolina mantises. That being said, since I am notoriously bad at IDing species, I figured I would look here to get some verification on my guess.
Here are a couple photos of my lovely lady mantis Paradox. As you can see in the first she is sporting a lovely orange/yellow spot right between her claws.
Here is a side view of her, giving her annoyed anntenae scowl.
Finally a shot of one of the ootheca. Sorry if it looks so weather beaten. It's been out in the rain/heat/humidity the last month or so. After they hatched out I stuck the ootheca outside incase there were some straggler hatchers, and I never brought them back in.
Seriously you think you know a mantis and then you realize the little imposters have been living in your home, pretending the whole time. :euro:
As the nymphs from the ootheca started to get older, I probably should have noticed they weren't looking structurally right, but once again I just went with the flow, assuming they were what I thought they where. Whelp, a couple days back my first female molted to adulthood and it was quickly apparent to me that she was no carolina mantis. Upon her back was a glistening pair of fullsize wings, not the little half wings Stagmomantis carolina female mantids get.
It didn't take me long to pin down what I am pretty sure the species is, a Tenodera angustipennis. Everything about them just seems to fit right down to the ootheca, which apparently are sometimes mistaken by less experienced people as being from carolina mantises. That being said, since I am notoriously bad at IDing species, I figured I would look here to get some verification on my guess.
Here are a couple photos of my lovely lady mantis Paradox. As you can see in the first she is sporting a lovely orange/yellow spot right between her claws.
Here is a side view of her, giving her annoyed anntenae scowl.
Finally a shot of one of the ootheca. Sorry if it looks so weather beaten. It's been out in the rain/heat/humidity the last month or so. After they hatched out I stuck the ootheca outside incase there were some straggler hatchers, and I never brought them back in.
Seriously you think you know a mantis and then you realize the little imposters have been living in your home, pretending the whole time. :euro:
