mantis change color?

[rickyveloz33]

I have heard that mantis can change color with ther surrounding but im not sure if this is true. so I was woundering if anyone has any advice about this.

 

[Ntsees]

It's my experience that they will, at least with the mantids I'm dealing with, but you'll probably have to give them 2-3 molts. My last experiment to show the color change failed because I didn't give it enough time.

 

[rickyveloz33]

So if I put my spiny flower mantis L2 in pink roses, it will be possible for it to be all pink at the last stage.

 

[Rick]

Some claim it happens but I am skeptical.

 

[JP77]

Some species are more inclined to change colors (Chinese mantids are pretty good at ranging from dark brown to green) but I'm with Rick, I don't think you'll see much of a difference for the spiny flower mantis.

 

[Domanating]

Last summer, I experienced one of my M.Religiosas changing color from green to brown in just a couple hours. It happened shortly after she molted to subadult. I found her in the morning freshly molted with typical pale green colors. When I went back to check on her 2 hours later, she was yellowish. In the end of the day, she was light brown and remained that way until molting to adult, becoming regular brown.

I nicknamed her Chameleon because of this.

I would have loved to film the entire process of color change but I simply wasn't expecting it because this is the 1st (and so far last) time I experienced it.

I suppose they can change colors but only when hardening from a molt.

Here are some pics:

The best proof I can give the skeptical members that this is the same mantis is the fact that half of her middle right leg is missing in the 1st pic. Given the fact that the leg was lost near her next molt, little has regenerated in subadult. When she molted to adult, it became a dwarf version of the other legs. Unfortunately I only had 2 pics of her as subadult and none of them show the missing leg.

PreSubadult

Subadult

Adult

 

[MantidBro]

Some claim it happens but I am skeptical.

Im also skeptical, i kept my green tenodera sinensis against green leaves and even outlined their containers with green cunstruction paper and they still turned brown two molts before adult hood. I think it depends on the species. Like ones that are more of a mimicking species may be able to do it. I had two Popa spurca, one molted into an adult against a black lid, the other against an orange lid, one was more orange and one more black.

 

[rickyveloz33]

So its a random thing?

 

[Domanating]

Honestly I have no idea. My female was found in the wild as a presubadult in a very green area. The enclosure where I put her had a lot of brown and very little green. I had no intention to make her change color. I didn't even know she could.

 

[rickyveloz33]

Will im ganna give it try and see what happens. If it works ill tell u guys.

 

[Crazy4mantis]

sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. I think it is a combination of small factors that cause color change, if it is not random. I think I have heard that humidity change may cause it? It might happen more frequently in certain species.

Maybe they wake up one day thinking "I want to be green" and so it happens.

 

[rickyveloz33]

Ooo now I get it.

 

[minomantis]

This is the number one question that a lot of people have and can never get a complete answer. I myself have done many things to test the idea. Did the surround the enclosure with one color, add more humidity to the enclosure and vice versa, only put leaves and/or sticks in an enclosure. Another idea is genetics and the whole idea of natural selection. Like what was said before, it's a combination of factors but I believe that mantids color is greatly affected by genetics. I can only base this off of T. sin because that's all I raise, but in the majority of egg cases that I hatch, the nymphs are usually green all the way to subadult at which they make a drastic change to brown. Makes sense, when they're nymphs a lot of fresh vegetation and everything is green and towards the end of their life, things are dying and turning brown. Those mantids reproduced and this color adaptation worked and was passed down. I believe humidity and adding more color to an environment can lighten or darken a mantis but the Idea of color and pattern I believe comes from mommy and daddy. I wish there was a way to really figure out because I have yet to see a bright green female adult mantis and the idea of color interests me greatly. Ricky if you look at my gallery from a while back, you will see a picture of a green adult female and a brown one. That same female molted a beautiful green and was green the whole day, but over night turned completely brown...idk why. lol but that's my two cents.

 

[piroxi]

Nymphs can.

Here are the pictures of my three Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/piroxi/Bild004-1.jpg

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/piroxi/Bild009.jpg

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/piroxi/Bild012-1.jpg

 

[Domanating]

Nymphs can.

Here are the pictures of my three Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/piroxi/Bild004-1.jpg

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/piroxi/Bild009.jpg

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/piroxi/Bild012-1.jpg

If they are 3 different mantids, it doesn't prove much. If the 1st mantis could change to pink like the 2nd mantis on its next molt or vice-versa, then it would be interesting.

 

[DinehCaveman]

I've had S. limbata that start off vibrant lime green and end up pinkish and tan, and ghosts that end up all shades of green and light brown. I'm pretty sure humidity and higher temps are the main factors.

 

[piroxi]

If they are 3 different mantids, it doesn't prove much. If the 1st mantis could change to pink like the 2nd mantis on its next molt or vice-versa, then it would be interesting.

I have putted the red one into a green box. And the black and white one into a box with red flowers and a red ground. Lets see what happens after the next molt.

 

[dmina]

Sounds cool... Keep us updated

 

[Crazy4mantis]

The change of color at the final molt is probably evolutionary. stagmomantis molt to adult in fall, so they turn brown to blend in. Idolomantis are brown as nymphs because they live in a dry climate, but turn green at adult because their final molt is timed with the monsoon season when everything turns green.