amen to that! they are cuuuuuties! i know im strange :tt1: :blink:
Large species
- Thread starter meaganelise9
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meaganelise9
Well-known member
Precarious
Well-known member
Ha-ha! He forgot to include "girth" as a choice.
Let's just say that mantis size does matter and leave it at that.
Precarious
Well-known member
No, I ended up with all females. Swapped one for a male that died in a week.
I currently have 7 around pre-sub (or very close to it). I'm sure I'll have at least one pair in the bunch and hopefully can get them bred. They are another of my favorite species. Great personality and communal!
Latest molt:
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guapoalto049
Well-known member
I've got plenty of adult pairs of Heterochaeta sp., there will be many many nymphs in no time. Adult females are up to 15 cm (with cerci), yet they can't tackle anything a Pseudocreobotra can't!
If dainty isn't your bag, I'd forget about any Heterochaeta or Idolomantis, they aren't exactly the most athletic things on the planet. If you want big beasts, from personal experience I'd go with Hierodula majuscula, Rhombodera species (7-8 cm), Deroplatys desiccata (8-9 cm), or good ol' Chinese mantids (10 cm).
H. majuscula is long, aggressive, and very heavily bodied, probably the most in culture. Rhombodera spp. are aggressive towards everything, athletic, and robust. D. desiccata are very stocky and have the strongest grip I've felt by far. They're aggressive to prey yet slow moving. Chinese aren't quite as aggressive as the others, but are large, strong, and will tackle impressive prey.
I think Plistospilota is a bit of a wild card. Yes they are large (11-12 cm) but I haven't heard much on strength. If I had to guess I'd say they were very similar to a Chinese.
If dainty isn't your bag, I'd forget about any Heterochaeta or Idolomantis, they aren't exactly the most athletic things on the planet. If you want big beasts, from personal experience I'd go with Hierodula majuscula, Rhombodera species (7-8 cm), Deroplatys desiccata (8-9 cm), or good ol' Chinese mantids (10 cm).
H. majuscula is long, aggressive, and very heavily bodied, probably the most in culture. Rhombodera spp. are aggressive towards everything, athletic, and robust. D. desiccata are very stocky and have the strongest grip I've felt by far. They're aggressive to prey yet slow moving. Chinese aren't quite as aggressive as the others, but are large, strong, and will tackle impressive prey.
I think Plistospilota is a bit of a wild card. Yes they are large (11-12 cm) but I haven't heard much on strength. If I had to guess I'd say they were very similar to a Chinese.
meaganelise9
Well-known member
Indeed. My Idolo is a picky little prince.
Thanks for the advice. I keep contemplating Hierodula majuscula since it looks like mantispets will have some soon (or eventually).
i have some majuscula and they are afraid of there own shadow!!! i have had to hand feed them a couple of times, and it gets annoying fast!!!! that being said i think they are probably the most beautiful mantis i have ever kept. they even beat out idolos! oh yeah and they are fricking huge!!! i have some L5 that are the same size as my sub adult lineola! p.s. guapoalto049 i really want hetrerochaetas!! pm when you have nymphs!
happy1892
Well-known member
I read that 3 inches is about 7.62cm long. I did not know they could get that long.
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happy1892
Well-known member
My Double Shield Mantids do not eat well either. Do Pnigomantis medioconstricta and Sphodromantis sp. "Blue Flash" grow a lot after the last molt?
happy1892
Well-known member
I have hand fed Chinese Mantids and they hold on to their food! One time my friend had a Chinese Mantis that grabbed his finger and started chewing on his finger and it was hard for him to get the mantis off. He did not want to hurt the mantis so he did not squeeze the mantis hard.
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lancaster1313
Likebugs (site changed my name😐)
Tenodera sinensis are a hungry and stubborn bunch, they seem to actually like the taste of finger. Lol.
angelofdeathzz
Well-known member
I have a adult male Mega, had 2 but I sent one to a friend, 10 were shipped to me from Frey but only 3 made it alive at L2, one mismolted at L6-7 so I ened up with 2 adult males, they are bigger than Chinese and for me anyway not that hard to raise (like it on the dry side), wish I had gotten a female but what ya gonna do...
sporeworld
Well-known member
Yeah, I had a miserable experience with L1 and L2 Megas. They just seemed like either a really weak species or a really weak strain. Not fragile, as I never saw them strong. Just... weak. The glory of the size just didn't seem worth it, compared to other more spectacular options on the "market".
BTW, to the comment above about Europeans being small, all the females I've caught or raised in SoCal have been big, robost, fierce and (IMO) gorgeous... in that classic mantis style. You can kind of make out the ghosts in the cage below watching in horror.
Males are kind of wimpy LOOKING, but MAN are they fast! And aggressive (about food & sex). The pic below is of a chinese male, but they're remarkably similar in size and temperment, and the photo illustrates the point.
BTW, to the comment above about Europeans being small, all the females I've caught or raised in SoCal have been big, robost, fierce and (IMO) gorgeous... in that classic mantis style. You can kind of make out the ghosts in the cage below watching in horror.
Males are kind of wimpy LOOKING, but MAN are they fast! And aggressive (about food & sex). The pic below is of a chinese male, but they're remarkably similar in size and temperment, and the photo illustrates the point.
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happy1892
Well-known member
That is not a male Chinese Mantis. That does look like a Stagmomantis. And that European Mantis does look big!Yeah, I had a miserable experience with L1 and L2 Megas. They just seemed like either a really weak species or a really weak strain. Not fragile, as I never saw them strong. Just... weak. The glory of the size just didn't seem worth it, compared to other more spectacular options on the "market".
BTW, to the comment above about Europeans being small, all the females I've caught or raised in SoCal have been big, robost, fierce and (IMO) gorgeous... in that classic mantis style. You can kind of make out the ghosts in the cage below watching in horror.
Males are kind of wimpy LOOKING, but MAN are they fast! And aggressive (about food & sex). The pic below is of a chinese male, but they're remarkably similar in size and temperment, and the photo illustrates the point.
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sporeworld
Well-known member
It is? It was a long time ago. I just looked at the green stripe on the wing edge and said, "Tenodera sinensis". In any case - crazy aggressive!
Really? Our female is a pretty good eater but the male, whom we've only had 2 days, seems a bit pickier, maybe (although he gobbled 2 BBFs today at L5). I think they're roughly the same age as yours and maybe hatchmates.
happy1892
Well-known member
Have you had a Chinese Mantis before?
sporeworld
Well-known member
Yeah - since I was a little kid. Green stripe on the edge of the wing = Chinese. That's been my experience. But I do NOT have a lot of experience with Stagmomantis species. No problem identifying the females, but I've never put any attention on the male Stagmomantis. So I could be wrong. Why do you think it's Stagmomantis...?
