Hunter and Diego

[Mantis Lady]

Thank you. I expect her to follow soon : her wing buds turned green too. A few  deli cups are getting empty soon.

 

[Mantis Lady]

This morning Hunter molted to adulthood.

She did it again: hanging on a too low spot to molt. I woke up to go to the wc and I walked to my desk. I always look in the mantids homes to see how they were doing. I din't see hunter hanging on the lid where she was preparing for her molt. Then i saw her hanging on a fake plant on the worst place you can imagine to molt and she was already starting. (saw the skin loosing up at her abdomen)

I had to do something. If I would leave her there, she would be having a terrible mismolt. She had just 5 cm space to molt, I think. way not enough molting space. I took her out at the legs and her feet grabbed my hand. I was watching her molt, hanging on my hand. I even got cramps in my arm but I gave her time to do the molting and the dry up. That went fine.

then I grabbed a fake plant out of cage because she needed to inflate her wings. I let her grab the fake plant to finsh crawling out of her old skin. It was if she understoot why the plant was standing here. She grabbed it and soon after it she was free of the skin. She positioned herself for the last part of her molt and inflated her wings.

My part was done. Happy to save this mantis life (again) what could have been going terrible wrong. She is healthy and have beautiful wings. Her wings are the same color of Diegos, but with no dark spots on it.

 

[Synapze]

Good job @Little Mantis 

 

[MantisGirl13]

Yes! Good job!

- MantisGirl13

 

[Mantis Lady]

Here some pics of freshly molted Hunter:

 

[Mantis Lady]

I am thinking to try to breed Diego and Hunter after my vacation. Then they are both ready when I am coming back. Flash still need to molt too, but won't belong either. I hope not that any of the females get what Cochise is having.  It would be cool to see what nymphs are coming of Diego and Flash?

 

[Mantis Lady]

Here some pics of grumpy Hunter. She gave me a threat pose when I took her out, for her out of home time. She gave me a few cool pics while being in threat pose.

I got a nice view on her wings too:

 

[MantisGirl13]

What is that spot on her eye?

- MantisGirl13

 

[Mantis Lady]

Don't know. She got that after her last molt. She has to live with it. Don't know how good she can see with that eye. But better one bad eye than a bad mismolt.

 

[MantisGirl13]

Agreed. I hope it is not an infection or a bother to her.

- MantisGirl13

 

[Mantis Lady]

I hope not. I have already enough bad stuff happening with my mantids, but in her eye no changes, so that is good.