look what I found on my house

[vafan13]

First off, I'm new here, hello. Now on to the mantis. =)

I had a European mantis as a pet when I was about 13. Had a great summer catching/feeding her bugs until she laid her ootheca, dying soon after. Unfortunately at 14 I had no clue what to do with the ootheca to get the nymphs to hatch successfully,or to get any of the nymphs to reach adulthood, for that matter. Anyways, a few weeks ago I told my girlfriend I wished I could find a mantis to keep as a pet like I did back in the day, and lo and behold, three days ago when I am letting the dog out I see what I believe is a Chinese mantis hanging out on the side of the garage. It wasn't too happy when I tried to relocate it to the screened porch (I don't yet own anything proper to keep it in), but I got it there without any real problem. Anyways, here it is:



I have been feeding it mostly hornets and moths (in high supply at my house) with some grasshoppers when I find them. I tried to get it to eat a bumble bee, but I think it was either something it didn't want to mess with or it simply wasn't hungry. I really don't know much about IDing mantis sex or molt stage (I'm guessing it's a full adult, but I don't know for sure). From head to the end of the wings is ~4 inches (tad over 10cm)

The local pet store is changing ownership and sellling off all of their current inventory, so I think I'll go try and pick up a nice 10 gal aquarium or a bigger hermit grab container on Monday.

 

[The_Asa]

That's a Chinese mantis, Tenodera sp. It is an adult mantis indicated by the wings.

Oh, and welcome

 

[vafan13]

That's a Chinese mantis, Tenodera sp. It is an adult mantis indicated by the wings.Oh, and welcome

Thanks. =)

Yeah, I figured it was a full adult, but as I have no specific knowledge besides looking at it and saying, "looks adult to me!" I stopped short of claiming it as such. When determining whether it is male or female, am I counting the "sections" on the abdomen? I heard 8 for male and 6-7 for female, is that right?

 

[Rick]

Welcome to the site. You have an adult male chinese mantis. There really is no need to count segments on adults as the adults often look very different in build and size. Their abdomens also look different. However I may just be taking it for granted that I can tell adult sex at a glance. Many I guess cannot. However on nymphs or non adult mantids females have six segments with the last one being large and males have more than six with the last being small. Like I said, you have a male.

 

[vafan13]

Welcome to the site. You have an adult male chinese mantis. There really is no need to count segments on adults as the adults often look very different in build and size. Their abdomens also look different. However I may just be taking it for granted that I can tell adult sex at a glance. Many I guess cannot. However on nymphs or non adult mantids females have six segments with the last one being large and males have more than six with the last being small. Like I said, you have a male.

Alright. I thought he might be a male based on his rather small abdomen. Thanks for the reply.

EDIT: I actually feel a little silly now. I just saw the "Male or female?" pinned at the top of the general thread (which I hadn't looked at yet). That would have made it quite easy for me to be sure on my own. =)

 

[Rick]

Alright. I thought he might be a male based on his rather small abdomen. Thanks for the reply.EDIT: I actually feel a little silly now. I just saw the "Male or female?" pinned at the top of the general thread (which I hadn't looked at yet). That would have made it quite easy for me to be sure on my own. =)

I should have posted the link in the thread.