Hello! I've been away for a year and a half or so, so if there are any oldies out there they might remember me. I tend to have two modes, OBSESSED and disinterested, so when I kept mantids before I kept anywhere from 20 to 40 individuals of five or six species at a time, and probably a 12-15 species in total... ish? Originally I got interested when we I ordered a couple of ooths for my garden and then rescued a T. sinensis female from outside right before a first frost. She came to live in the house and before she was done laid 3 ooths for us, and then we traded the babies for new species once we found the forum. What an education and an initiation into the Fraternal Order of Mantis Addicts.
I switched to African Cichlid fish for a while but I've got a new office/art studio and I decided I needed mantis buddies at my desk. So I ordered a couple of D. dessicata to keep me company, and I'm pretty excited about them coming tomorrow. I've kept D. lobata before but these are new to me.
My husband is making me write on the chalkboard 30 times, "I won't order half a hundred mantids. I won't order half a hundred mantids."
So far it's working. I WOULD like a little ghost colony though...... and I really do miss my P. wahlbergii, which were my favorite.... (and so it begins).
I've also gotten into photography in the last couple of years so I'm excited to try my hand at macro shots of my bugs. Among my other hobbies are watercolor and oil painting, writing, poetry, the aforementioned fish (switching up the 55g tank setup soon), 3 cats, 3 dogs, 2 horses, RPG gaming (tabletop), gardening, cooking, hiking, and whatever else is the obsession du jour. Oh, and I make chainmaille and wire jewelry, that never goes away because it's becoming the day job.
Nice to be back!
I switched to African Cichlid fish for a while but I've got a new office/art studio and I decided I needed mantis buddies at my desk. So I ordered a couple of D. dessicata to keep me company, and I'm pretty excited about them coming tomorrow. I've kept D. lobata before but these are new to me.
My husband is making me write on the chalkboard 30 times, "I won't order half a hundred mantids. I won't order half a hundred mantids."
So far it's working. I WOULD like a little ghost colony though...... and I really do miss my P. wahlbergii, which were my favorite.... (and so it begins).
I've also gotten into photography in the last couple of years so I'm excited to try my hand at macro shots of my bugs. Among my other hobbies are watercolor and oil painting, writing, poetry, the aforementioned fish (switching up the 55g tank setup soon), 3 cats, 3 dogs, 2 horses, RPG gaming (tabletop), gardening, cooking, hiking, and whatever else is the obsession du jour. Oh, and I make chainmaille and wire jewelry, that never goes away because it's becoming the day job.
Nice to be back!
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I can definitely relate to your experience of having two modes: OBSESSED and disinterested.
