Idolomantis diabolica L7 molt (video)
- Thread starter Precarious
- Start date
Help Support Mantidforum:
Ricardo
Well-known member
I'm picturing precarious in clad armor, sword raised and flying into the sunset on his trusty Idolo steed XD
EDIT : and I think Santa should replace his reindeer with magical mantids
EDIT : and I think Santa should replace his reindeer with magical mantids
Last edited by a moderator:
guapoalto049
Well-known member
Update: I'm completely wrong Precarious! If I learned how to count then I'd know my mantids are currently L6, not L7. L6 is sub-subadult and L7 is subadult. With all this education you'd figure I could count properly...
Precarious
Well-known member
:lol: Turns out you were right the first time!
One of my females molted to L8 and guess what? L8 is only subadult!
Check your wing buds against these. This is L8.
PS - I caught the whole process on video again. I'll post shortly.
Last edited by a moderator:
guapoalto049
Well-known member
Haha I'm all screwed up. I'm almost positive mine have 2 molts left. They are both about 6cm now-how big are yours at L8?
Precarious
Well-known member
guapoalto049
Well-known member
How about length?
Precarious
Well-known member
Mine always have their butts up!
If I measure the top and add it to the bottom the L8 is about 3.25". L7 about 2.75".
guapoalto049
Well-known member
haha yeah mine too, they are so active its tough to measure. I just add the length of the abdomen to the thorax+head to get a rough estimate. You've got some beasts!
Precarious
Well-known member
:lol: My estimates included the head gear.
I had mine out yesterday and the youngest molted to L7 hanging from a plant on my desk! I was spotting her the whole time and I put a heavily misted delicup under her to make sure she had enough humidity. Thankfully everything worked out. :sweatdrop:
guapoalto049
Well-known member
Ah ok. I've been keeping mine on the cool/humid side lately, their heat lamp broke! They eat so many flies though, I think I'm going to get some hornworm pods to add variety and give them something more than an appetizer.
Hopefully they'll still be going strong by summer. I get tons of luna, cecropia, and polyphemus moths around here, so they'll be living the good life!
Hopefully they'll still be going strong by summer. I get tons of luna, cecropia, and polyphemus moths around here, so they'll be living the good life!
sporeworld
Well-known member
FYI, those moths start flying mid to late April.
guapoalto049
Well-known member
Even way up in northeastern PA? I've never seen them that early, maybe I should get my eyes checked. I'm assuming from your avatar that you aren't too keen on the idea of feeding big moths to mantids...
sporeworld
Well-known member
Yeah, not too keen, but you know... circle of life and all that.
My idols were pretty frightened by katydids, so not sure how they'll deal with a luna or cecropia. I think they'd just freak and run. Also, idolos are a bit frail - I can see them getting damaged by flailing silkmoth wings. But we'll see....
My idols were pretty frightened by katydids, so not sure how they'll deal with a luna or cecropia. I think they'd just freak and run. Also, idolos are a bit frail - I can see them getting damaged by flailing silkmoth wings. But we'll see....
Precarious
Well-known member
I've been feeding mine flying foxes and condors. :stuart:
The other day they caught a guy in a hang glider.
Last edited by a moderator:
if the cops come to investigate the death of the hang glider guy, just tell them what sporeworld says..."circle of life and all that."
Harry
guapoalto049
Well-known member
Ah ok, sorry to bring it up. I'll try and keep it to a minimum. I saw a picture of one somewhere on the internet with a ton of fuzz on it, with the caption saying it just ate an atlas moth. I forget where I saw it, but its pretty hard to believe.
angelofdeathzz
Well-known member
Thats what you get when you hang glide through Idolo country.
when the cops come make sure you remove there side arm and mace, as it may give your girls gas.
when the cops come make sure you remove there side arm and mace, as it may give your girls gas.
Precarious
Well-known member
A bit off subject but here is an extremely fuzzy Polyphemus moth I found in an abandoned train tunnel...
guapoalto049
Well-known member
Aww they look so innocent. I really shouldn't feed these things to mantids. Anyone use hornworms? These seem like good feeders for adult Idolo. If Chinese females can take them down I'm assuming Idolos can, since they're bigger.
