Hi, new from Singapore :)

[crucis]

Hi evryone I'm from Singapore, still very new to mantises, I also registered quite recently at the Asian Mantis Network but decided to come here as well cuz I see some similar user names

I've kept some before when I was in secondary / high school and nostalgia has prompted me to start again. So far I'm quite familiar with 3 native species (Odontomantis planiceps, Tropidomantis tenera, Hierodula patellifera) since I've raised a handful of each to adulthood.

I get the most satisfaction from extracting 1st / 2nd instar nymphs from housing estates, watching them grow to adults, then releasing them in more secluded areas with less people and less chance of pesticide-fumigation genocide.. I'd prefer to breed them before I let them go but I've only done that twice (and very long ago lol)

Hope to learn more abt mantids etc here as well as seek advice if I run into any problems (quite likely haha so thanks in advance for any help!)

 

[Mr.Mantid]

Welcome to the forum. If you have any O. planiceps ootheca I would very much like some for a good price hee hee.

 

[crucis]

Haha believe me, I wish I had! but I kinda just started out again with two O.planiceps nymphs I got from the same bush in a park... so far they've only moulted once each, they're only L2 now so quite hard to count the segments. Plus they're prob siblings, not sure if its a good idea to breed them anway.. I'll keep your offer in mind though, who knows what the future will bring when I'm a little more experienced

 

[Mr.Mantid]

Alrighty. These guys are suppose to reach adult hood so maybe a month and half or so and they'll be there! Also they only mate when they are adult but the females will lay lots and lots of ooths!

 

[Ryan.M]

Welcome to the forums!

 

[Peter Clausen]

Welcome, Crucis! Many of us would love to go out and collect a few mantises locally. You're very fortunate to have a handful of species there. Do you have orchid mantises there? I seem to recall Singapore has some pretty fabulous bugs, though I wonder if they are becoming more rare?? Phyllium spp.?

 

[kitkat39]

Welcome Crucis!

 

[Rick]

Welcome

 

[hibiscusmile]

Welcome Singapore!

 

[crucis]

Welcome, Crucis! Many of us would love to go out and collect a few mantises locally. You're very fortunate to have a handful of species there. Do you have orchid mantises there? I seem to recall Singapore has some pretty fabulous bugs, though I wonder if they are becoming more rare?? Phyllium spp.?

Thanks for the welcomes evryone!

Hmmm about orchid mantises, personally I haven't seen any but wouldn't be too surprised if I stumbled across one since I realised they are native to Malaysia (and Malaysia is so near that you can almost swim across...)

Lol and you wondered right, bugs in Singapore really seem to be getting harder to find. Aside from a number of familiar species (O.planiceps leads the pack in the mantid department) that have adapted well to the increasing human presence, the rest are prob confined to dwindling pockets of forest and a few nature reserves. I think phyllium spp. (and phasmids in general) are miracle-finds unless one is prepared to make a dedicated trail-bashing excursion to one of those places. I've been eyeing the bushes around my neighbourhood since I was a in primary / grade school and the variety of critters u can expect to find at a given time really appears to have diminished

Still, I'm quite sure that anyone used to the bugs in a more temperate region will be pleased to be acquainted with the tropical species we have here for a change I guess if folks here are prepared to look, there'll always be surprises in store

 

[Peter Clausen]

I want to make a "dedicated trail-bashing excursion"! Do you ever go outside at night with a flashlight? I see more bugs this way in my backyard.

 

[Termite48]

Welcome Crucis: I hope you enjoy this forum like we all do that have been here a while. It is a good place to meet new friends and to learn a lot about the hobby of collecting mantids and even try breeding them. You are in a great area for collecting. Good luck

Rich S

in SoCal

 

[crucis]

I want to make a "dedicated trail-bashing excursion"! Do you ever go outside at night with a flashlight? I see more bugs this way in my backyard.

Sadly, I live in a public apartment block within the city but I've been hoping to set time aside for an overnight trip to some nature reserve..! not sure if you've tried this before, but since I saw one of NatGeo's 'Insects from Hel l' episodes (forgot which one) I've been hoping to plant myself in the jungle at night armed with a huge white sheet and a lamp :lol:

I'll have to save up for a half-decent camera first, though.. the family one is pretty hopeless at close-up shots. When I finally get some interesting pics I'll be glad to share them

 

[Andyfrog321]

Welcome!