Making orchid mantis pink

[Mantis House]

I have always admired the very pink orchid mantids, and was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to make them pinker. I’ve read that some people think it is all about the humidity, while others believe it is about the environment. I keep my pair at a constant 85-90F, about 75F at night, and they are always at about 80-85% humidity. And they are both stark, solid white. I have had them in an aquarium with fake ivy, but I recently changed the female’s to all pink flowers, to see if that works. She is a L6, and he is a L4, and they were slightly pink when I got them, so I know it’s in their genetics. 

Any tips are appreciated!

 

[Predatorhousepet]

I've been trying to figure that out. All the orchid nymphs I've gotten arrive super pink in color but turn completely white within a few days in my care. I was told  change color canbhappen when molting but this color change happens without any of them molting. I raised and lowered the temperature and humidity to see if I could get them to turn back to pink but didn't have much success. If anyone figures it out I'd love to know.

 

[PlayingMantis]

I noticed that they become pinker closer to their molts, and this is more apparent in subadult females preparing for their final molt. But then again, I've had some males and younger females turn extremely pink at certain stages. Others remained pure white.  I never really figured out why. I kept all of them in the same environment, same food, etc., so my guess is that it could be genetic, or due to some random physical change.

 

[Mantis House]

I changed up her enclosure, it started as a green area, with fake ivy plants as decoration. Here’s a pic of the male’s home, what her’s used to be:



On Friday night, I changed (only) her enclosure into this:



I left the male’s alone, to see if he stays the same. If that’s the case, the environment does have some impact on their colors, at least in this case. 

Not sure if you can really see it in either of these pics, but after two days, she does have a slight pink hue on her legs. Just to clarify, she was white as snow as of Friday. Today, I took a close look at her, and she is a little pink. I hope she continues to “pinken”, but we will have to wait and see. 

 

[River Dane]

I dug up some old threads. Apparently this is one of those age-old unanswered mysteries.The first thread suggests it helps to provide more lighting, an the second suggests simply raising humidity and temp and adding pink flowers (supposedly real ones work better, perhaps because they also increase humidity?). As far as I can tell, no one’s had any consistent results, so there’s no guarantees. It could also be genetic, but most people say that that cannot be the sole determining factor.

Good luck with your orchid mantis! If nothing works, at least they’re still beautiful without pink 

 

[Mantis House]

@River Dane

yeah, I found those old topics as well. But like you said, they are still relatively unanswered. Maybe the key is something that no one has even thought of, like the level of nitrogen in the air, or something crazy like that. I am definitely going to be testing some things in the next many years to come. 

Like you said, if I can’t find anything, they are still a very beautiful species. I honestly like the white just as much as the pink. But I think for curiosity’s sake, I want to find out what makes them pink (especially since no one has figured it out)

 

[minomantis]

This question happens with every mantis species really with no real concrete answers.  I think ultimately it comes down to genetics, but the environment can have an impact.  To get those bright pink orchid mantids, I think that's all genetics, but personally when I owned the orchid mantis, I saw a direct correlation to humidity more pink and dryness less to no pink and the change seemed to happen during the day.  I think the more pink mantids that mate and pass down genes, you will get a more and more pink species, but with anything, the environment plays a role.  Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[Predatorhousepet]

It has to be something they are exposed to because mine are very pink when they arrive from the breeder but turn stark white in 4 to 6 days without molting. I've tried different temperature and humidity levels as well as changing the color of the plants, adding pink flowers or just greenery. The best result I've ever had was a slight pinkish tinge in the center of the lobes on their back legs. This occured when I raised the temperature from 76° to 80°F.  Raising the temperature to 82° then 84° did not increase the pinkness further. The starting ambient humidity level where I live is usually between 50 to 85% and I mist lightly every day or every other day depending on how high the humidity is to start with and if the substrate has dried out.

Maybe it has to do with the diet of the feeder insects. Flamingos are pink because the shrimp and blue-green algae they eat contain beta carotene. You can also increase red coloration in fish by feeding them fish food with shrimp or krill added. Perhaps giving the feeder insects something high in beta carotene might help? Maybe feed roaches or crickets color enhancing fish food or other sources of beta carotene such as dark green leafy veggies, broccoli, red pepper, papaya, sweet potatoes, carrots and other red or yellow fruits & vegetables. I feed my orchids mainly flies, starting from fruit flies to house flies then finally blue bottle flies and I don't think the fly's food has very much if any beta carotene in it. That might explain the loss of pinkness.

 

[ausar318]

[Edit: just realized I responded with my original, other account, so I guess my secret alter ego is exposed ?]

Could it be the stress of shipping that bleaches the mantids? I was thinking about that today. Because mine did the same thing. They were both very pink when I got them, but in a matter of days, they had lost their color all together. 

An update on the female now, she is a little pinker than even yesterday. Now her back is a little pink also. Here’s a pic:



so far, I am getting some good results from changing the color of the enclosure. But then again, like I said before, it could be a random coincidence. But the male, who’s enclosure I have not changed, is still completely white. 

@Predatorhousepet The idea that the food impacts their color is a very interesting thought. It is something I am definitely going to test once (if) I am able to raise, breed, and hatch some ooths. I have a few things that I want to test over the next couple years. 

 

[Predatorhousepet]

The idea that the food impacts their color is a very interesting thought. It is something I am definitely going to test once (if) I am able to raise, breed, and hatch some ooths. I have a few things that I want to test over the next couple years. 

I was going to start adding color enhancing fish food and red/orange/yellow veggies to my roaches diet to see if that makes any difference. I've tried putting pink flowers in their terrarium before but they stayed white. I'm not sure where I read it but there were experiments done that showed orchid mantises prefer to hang out on greenery rather than hiding among flowers because they catch more prey that way since they didn't have to compete with the real flowers they are mimicking, all the insects are attracted to them alone. However, I don't know how that affects their expression of color. Are white flowers just as likely to attract pollinators as pink flowers?

Shipping stress may indeed play a part in color change but it doesn't happen to all orchids and when it does most stay white even after adjusting to new surroundings. It is possible to get them to turn pink again so we know it's not a permanent change.

 

[River Dane]

@Predatorhousepet I read that as well. I don’t remember where, but it’s mentioned lower down in this article. 

... unlike certain predators that hide among flowers in an attempt to ambush prey, orchid mantises are content hanging out in plain view. But their research also suggests that the insects have better luck when they situate themselves in flower-rich areas ...

It doesn’t say much about what causes color change, but it does mention the hues may help attract pollinators. Maybe pollen or hunger plays a role?

Also, did you guys both order from the same breeder?

 

[Predatorhousepet]

Also, did you guys both order from the same breeder?

I've bought from 4 different breeders all with the same result.

 

[ausar318]

@River Dane

I bought mine from England

 

[Kungfumantis]

It has to be something they are exposed to because mine are very pink when they arrive from the breeder but turn stark white in 4 to 6 days without molting. I've tried different temperature and humidity levels as well as changing the color of the plants, adding pink flowers or just greenery. The best result I've ever had was a slight pinkish tinge in the center of the lobes on their back legs. This occured when I raised the temperature from 76° to 80°F. Raising the temperature to 82° then 84° did not increase the pinkness further. The starting ambient humidity level where I live is usually between 50 to 85% and I mist lightly every day or every other day depending on how high the humidity is to start with and if the substrate has dried out.

Maybe it has to do with the diet of the feeder insects. Flamingos are pink because the shrimp and blue-green algae they eat contain beta carotene. You can also increase red coloration in fish by feeding them fish food with shrimp or krill added. Perhaps giving the feeder insects something high in beta carotene might help? Maybe feed roaches or crickets color enhancing fish food or other sources of beta carotene such as dark green leafy veggies, broccoli, red pepper, papaya, sweet potatoes, carrots and other red or yellow fruits & vegetables. I feed my orchids mainly flies, starting from fruit flies to house flies then finally blue bottle flies and I don't think the fly's food has very much if any beta carotene in it. That might explain the loss of pinkness.

Sunlight maybe