Long time between penultimate and ultimate molt?

[BoxOfFrogs]

Hello everyone,

My orchid mantis is male. This is a shame because I asked for and was sold a female, but never mind. I won't be buying livestock from that particular shop again.

I was told 'she' was an L2 when I purchased her. Molt to L3 happened 2 weeks after purchase, Molt to L4 3 weeks later. So I was expecting a further molt to L5 approx. 3 weeks after that.

However, it has now been 5 weeks. Also, it is clear that wings are forming near the base of the thorax. So my question is "how long between L4 and final L5 should I expect to be normal?"

'He' is eating the occasional fruit fly but has nothing like his normal appetite.

Thanks, Keith.

 

[Graceface]

What temp are you keeping him? Cooler temps will slow his development. He will take longer to molt if he is kept on the low side 

At his instar, he should be eating houseflies or larger, not FF. Can you switch him to a bigger feeder? I feed my L4/5 males one Blue Bottle fly every other day. Eating less food will also slow his development 

I've had males take 6-7 weeks to make the final molt when they are kept cooler and feed lightly. I wouldnt worry

If you wanna encourage him to molt, keep him in the 80s f and feed him larger prey. 

Edit: I'd also be wary of anyone who says they've sexed an L2 orchid mantis. You can't reliably *** an orchid that early