Mantis religiosa sick or dead?

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Sinisha

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Yesterday,i found that one of my female mantis religiosa,called midi cant move her arm ,the same thing happend to Mantis Jane Earlier.I was thinking midi will eat her arm and will be fine.Now today,i was checking my mantids,and saw midi laying on the ground with arm eaten.
frown.gif


But i dont think it was dead,the eyes was still green.I released midi in the garden,and she was just laying...
frown.gif


I want to know what happend to her,and did she die?

It was fine all week and now this happend.

 
I am sorry about your loss. :(

The pics showed the posture of a dying mantis. She may have died from complications of old age.

After a mantid's final molt, the will no longer regenerate and any injuries will be permanent and possibly get infected over time. Eating at the area is no guarantee of survival, but can help especially if the mantis is still a nymph.

How long has she been an adult, or did you find her as an adult?

 
I found her as adult,about week ago.She was alone in cage,i feed her small grasshoppers and moths.

 
I don't know where you live but old age for a female Mantis Religiosa is just too early in October. In average this species dies between mid November to late December, depending on the weather conditions. Strong females can live to see the new year and live the early days of January in captivity. The Mantis Religiosa i kept that had the earliest death died on November the 7th and suffered some kind of blindness where she couldn't see anything farther than 5cm away from her. An early death with a sick mantis is comprehensible, not with a healthy one, specially so early in October.

Where i live, cold weather (below 10º Celsius) usually starts at mid December or January. If these temperatures usually strike your region sooner, then the mantids death might be understandable, otherwise i would consider death by infection or some kind of disease.

 
There are few other possibilities, she could have been egg-bound or the feeder bugs may have had poison in their system.

 

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