How to color change a mantis ?

[Ghozt]

I been seeing some cool colors on mantis, like the Spiny Flower Mantis I seen purple and pink, and i seen another picture that was red, lime green and dark purple !

I tried putting colored environment and it seems to not work so well for me. Also do they have to be in an age range ? Do all mantids have this ability ? Dose anyone have any tips ?

Magic Marker, Food coloring, Myst with Kool-Aid, and Adobe Photo Shop... :blink: Just Kidding

 

[PhilinYuma]

I been seeing some cool colors on mantis, like the Spiny Flower Mantis I seen purple and pink, and i seen another picture that was red, lime green and dark purple !

I tried putting colored environment and it seems to not work so well for me. Also do they have to be in an age range ? Do all mantids have this ability ? Dose anyone have any tips ?

Magic Marker, Food coloring, Myst with Kool-Aid, and Adobe Photo Shop... :blink: Just Kidding

You've got to be more patient! Give them at least a couple of molts in the same environment before you give up. Also, it might be a good idea to try different colored lights or wrap colored, transparent cellophane/plastic around the enclosure.

And have you thought of using tasteful, color oriented music? Here are some thoughts:

Green Green Hills of Home (the lyics belong in the Suckingest Lyrics Ever Hall of Fame).

Tie a Yellow Ribbon round the Old Oak Tree.

Black, Black, Black (Particularly that tasteful first line by Amy Winehouse).

Lady Gaga's Brown Eyes

Elton John's Blue Eyes

Crystal Gayle's Brown Eyes Blue, for a two-tone effect.

Just trying to get your creative juices flowing, here!

 

[NoKanDo]

i found if you put certain vegitation in there they will molt to those colors more often than not, but it usually takes a couple molts.

i did it with some ghosts and am doing it with the chinese mantids i now have.

for the ones i want green i have a ton of green stuff, leaves, and such. for the browns its just sticks...

hope it helps...

btw i really noticed the coloring with ghosts

 

[Ntsees]

Yeap, as they mentioned above...

 

[Mex_Ghost]

I had my Paradoxas without any vegetation than a brown Stick, and now I have two green adult females, I just misted twice a day, so I belive in Paradoxas vegetation is not a factor.

 

[revmdn]

Um, spray paint is much easier than finding those little brushes and magnifying lenses. Just saying :lol:

 

[architectd]

I had my ghosts hooked up to an automatic mister that went off twice everyday. All of them turned out to be SUPER green.

I doubt many species have the ability to change their color depending on their surrounding environment. Honestly, I believe for many species it's just a placebo effect (such as ghosts, and orchids).

The variables I believe effect the color of a mantid, and I've experimented with are: lighting, humidity, and temperature. Genetics may be another variable so it could be just luck of the draw. I house lots of P. paradoxa, and D. Bolivari under the same conditions and I almost always end up with a different colored mantid.