L1/first instar comparison (appearance only)

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I added three more L1 nymph images (in the third post) to this thread: Hierodula multispina, Orthodera ministralis (Garden Mantis) and a third one that I need to confirm the identity. I found a couple of nymphs in one of my incubator deli cups, and for the first time, I'm not certain which ooth they hatched from. They are dark brown and could be Pseudomantis albofimbriata (False Garden Mantis).

 
Great shots! If you want a serious challenge try Tropidomantis, they are absolutely insane little beasts.

 
Tony C said:
Great shots! If you want a serious challenge try Tropidomantis, they are absolutely insane little beasts.
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Many of the L1s drive me crazy. They crawl back and forth, and I need them to hold still in one place. I almost had the opportunity to photograph the Tropidomantis but they would have been L3s. I had them shipped priority around the holidays, and unfortunately they got stuck in transit for 5 days and did not survive. Maybe someday I'll have another opportunity.

 
agent A said:
Could the unknown be a sphodro or parasphendale??
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Alex, I don't have any budwing ooths. I know what all of the ooths are, but I just can't tell which one they hatched from because there are only two nymphs and no signs of where they came from. I have a couple of blue flash ooths, but I think they were green at L1. I think the only other possibility of a dark brown nymph would be a Deroplatys. But I'm not sure that ooth is fertile. This is my incubator with a variety of ooths. The rest all contain ooths from the same species.

 
I added a label to the last image: Pseudomantis albofimbriata (False Garden Mantis). There is a third nymph in the incubator now and evidence that it came out of the Pseudomantis albofimbriata ooth.

 
Tammy Wolfe said:
I added a label to the last image: Pseudomantis albofimbriata (False Garden Mantis). There is a third nymph in the incubator now and evidence that it came out of the Pseudomantis albofimbriata ooth.
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OMG Lucky you Tammy My Pseudomantis albofimbriata diden't hatch yet .. After I send it to you my was still left in cold room for another 2 weeks, so my will be longer to hatch .

 
Wow...I remember you told me how different nymphs appear when they're placed behind a macro lens. I really like the boxer nymph. Have you photographed any Pseudoharpax V. nymphs?

 
A friend gave me a Hierodula majuscula ooth. After ten weeks of incubation, I gave up on it and then was surprised when it started to hatch last week. I posted a photo I took today of one of the nymphs. It's in the third post in this thread by the other Hierodula nymphs.

mantid_mike said:
Wow...I remember you told me how different nymphs appear when they're placed behind a macro lens. I really like the boxer nymph. Have you photographed any Pseudoharpax V. nymphs?
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Mike, I missed your question when you first posted it. No, I never photographed any Pseudoharpax nymphs. That was actually one of my first species that I got in 2010, but I wasn't able to breed them. I bet they are small nymphs!

 
I just added another L1...a Polyspilota griffinnii (Griffin Mantis). It's in the second post under the Marble mantis. They do look similar. I only had one nymph to work with as that is all that has hatched so far. This is a new species for me. I also got this ooth from a friend.

 
It's been over four months since I've done any mantis photography. Today I had to cancel my original plans due to a rainy day and got my camera set up for macro photography. I just added my 26th photo to this thread. It's the last photo in the third post. (The Brunner's mantis is my 25th first instar nymph that I photographed. Finally after 2.5 years with this species, I had the opportunity to photograph a first instar nymph. My first attempt with this species ended with mismolts due to a rooky mistake. I got two more nymphs from Precarious and was able to raise one of the females to an adult. She laid her last ooth in February. Prior to this week, only one nymph had hatched. I was busy at the time it hatched and wasn't able to photograph it when it was L1. Unfortunately it died at L2. If I hadn't exchanged emails with Precarious, I likely would have given up on these ooths and tossed them! I hope this little one makes it as I enjoy this species. Oh, I have to add this first instar nymph stayed in one position longer than any other first instar nymph I have ever photographed. She stayed in the same position for over 30 minutes.

 
I'm reviving an old topic that I started a few years ago and posted last time exactly one year ago! Thanks to Precarious for the opportunity to photograph a new species for me: Euchomenella heteroptera. I literally had to dust off my macro set up since I haven't used it all year. Unfortunately I couldn't get my MP-65E lens to work correctly with my 5D Mark II camera. I actually had a similar issue with this camera with two other lenses when the camera was brand new. so, I'm not sure if it's the camera or the lens. I switched to my 100mm macro lens, which seemed to work fine. The Euchomenella ooth that I got from Precarious just hatched yesterday. I was surprised that 40+ large nymphs came out of a smaller ooth. These nymphs are one of the largest L1s I've ever seen, though they are also one of the most delicate.

To see my new photo added, please check the first page. It's the last image in the third post.

 
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This was an excellent read... This was very interesting.. Thanks for all your time Tammy.. Great job with the photo's

 
Photographed a couple of mantids for the first time in 2015. I added an L1 Hestiasula major above. (See the third post of this thread.) These little guys are so cute! I can't wait to try again when they get a little bigger.

 
Amazing pictures! I absolutely love the L1 boxers, they are so cute when they are huddled up with their disproportionate body parts :pinch: Then there are the ones with great displays of color. Sad to see them lose their beautiful colors after the first instar.

Tammy Wolfe said:
Photographed a couple of mantids for the first time in 2015. I added an L1 Hestiasula major above. (See the third post of this thread.) These little guys are so cute! I can't wait to try again when they get a little bigger.
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Geez, I wish I had your macro setup. I've been drooling over the MP-E 65mm lens along with the macro twin lite flash. You paid so much for that setup, I don't know how you could leave it to collect dust for so long :no:

 
Melophile said:
Amazing pictures! I absolutely love the L1 boxers, they are so cute when they are huddled up with their disproportionate body parts :pinch: Then there are the ones with great displays of color. Sad to see them lose their beautiful colors after the first instar.

Geez, I wish I had your macro setup. I've been drooling over the MP-E 65mm lens along with the macro twin lite flash. You paid so much for that setup, I don't know how you could leave it to collect dust for so long :no:
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Well, for six months, I was only keeping two species of mantids due to some family things. So, I wasn't motivated to photograph the species I had. One of them is a species that I've been keeping for over four years. Yes, I do leave my set up sit for too long, but part of the reason why is that I spend a lot of time photographing birds. Anyway, this was the first time that I had a new L1 to photograph this year. Some lose their color but others get more colorful as they mature. I hope you can get the set up that you want some day. Thanks for the comments! :)

 
So cute :D I wil have a few species as 1st instars soon enough, Including Pnigomantis, Rhombodera fusca, and Rhombodera extensicollis.

 

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