How do I determine the gender and age of my mantis?

[LilGreenPuffer]

My African nymph just molted for about the third time since its arrival, and this time it gained an inch and sprouted huge wings! Do the wings mean it's an adult now? And how can I tell the gender? I asked the breeder, and she said that "you just have to get to know the species," which wasn't too helpful. Also, my first African nymph (which died during the molt where it got wings) was bright green, and this one is sort of olive. Does this have anything to do with gender?

 

[lancaster1313]

Here is a helpful link. http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7110

 

[LilGreenPuffer]

Thanks for the link - don't know how I missed that. :blush: It's definitely a male - 8 body segments and a blunted end, with the cup-thing going on.

How about age, then? It really doesn't look like the one photo on the breeder site, and a Google Image search turns up... lots of different mantids.

 

[lancaster1313]

He is an adult now that he has wings. :angel:

 

[LilGreenPuffer]

Thanks! I tried searching the photo forums, but couldn't come up with what I needed. Time to celebrate - I didn't kill it before it grew up! Woohoo! It's my first experience with non-aquatic inverts (apart from childhood ant farms).

 

[lancaster1313]

Congrats to a good mantis mom!