Marbled mantid questions

[timp]

Hi folks,

Here is a photo of what I think is a Marbled mantis, she was sold as a marbled mantis and she looks like the pictures I've found by googling. Definitely a female as she recently laid an unfertilised ooth.

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture.

Before she laid this ooth she would spend 100% of her time on the roof of her tank, if we took her out for any reason and put her back somewhere else she would always return immediately to the roof.

She looked like she was going to explode and then laid this ootheca, now she seems to guard it, she no longer stays on her roof but only an inch or so from the ooth, the most she has moved since is that she sometimes turns round so that she is either facing it or has it behind her. If she is facing away from it and the lid is taken off her tank she looks behind her at the ooth, almost as if to check that it is still there. She is also much more vicious towards her prey, which is now anything that comes near the ooth.

I read that 'certain species' of mantis do guard their ooth, has anyone else observed this and is Marbled mantis one of these species?

I am also interested in getting her a mate so that the next ooth she lays will be fertilised, I have posted a personal for her in For sale/Wanted but so far no replies.

The other question, do you think she will get upset if I remove this ooth? She does seem to have motherly instincts towards it and I would hate to mentally scar her or put her off mating!

Thanks

Tim

 

[OGIGA]

They aren't guarding their oothecae, they're just standing next to it. And if you take it, they won't mind at all. :wink:

 

[Ben.M]

Not always, my female sometimes gaurds her ooth's, if i put my hand in to get her to budge she will attack my finger :lol:

 

[timp]

Seriously she had spent pretty much her entire life on the roof, she came down to lay her ooth and now she stays by it rather than going back to the roof. Its difficult to describe the behaviour, and im probably somewhat guilty of mapping human actions and emotions onto the mantis but she really does seem to be guarding it. She laid it about a week ago and hasnt moved from it.

Anyone know where I can get/buy her a mister mantis? (uk)

 

[Ben.M]

I know someone else who is looking for a male and cant find 1 anywhere :roll:

Take the ooth out and she should go backto her normal routine

 

[timp]

Can you please let me know if your friend has any luck?

 

[Ben.M]

Yup, will do , the only place i've ever seen them for sale is on ebay and that was ages ago :?

 

[Rick]

All my mantids spend most of their time on the lid hanging upside down.

 

[Sparky]

Hey my mantis looks more like that :? I guess its not a stagmomantis at all then. I'll take another picture of it later. It molted 4 times after I caught it.

 

[timp]

Hmm, can someone confirm for me that Marbled Mantis (I think Hierodula parviceps?) and Madagascan Marbled Mantis (I think Polyspilota aeruginosa?) are completely different? Does anyone have any pictures of each?

The one I've pictured above was sold as just a 'marbled mantis' but everytime I google I get this madagascan marbled mantis as well and its getting confusing telling if theyre the same thing or not as several sites ive found seem to not know what theyre on about and use the two terms interchangeably. I dont think they are the same thing as the latin names are different but im not sure i've got the right latin names, so can't be sure about that either.

 

[Ben.M]

H.Parviceps (brown morph)

Polyspilota aeruginosa

Several pictures >>>here<<<

 

[Ben.M]

H.Parviceps is not a marbled mantis!!!

 

[timp]

I dont know how well you can see it in the picture I posted above. To be honest, it doesnt really look like your photo Ben.M, that photo is a lot darker colour (and to be honest a bit grainy so its hard to tell about the shape, but so far as I can tell it is similar), the ones on the link you sent me are more like it except theyre a lot slender so maybe different genders. I'm going to be away this weekend but when I get back I'll try and take some better photos (my dads camera with the nice macro got wet ). I cant really give you a good description of what colour she is because i'm colourblind, I'll have to ask a 'normal' person, the photo of her that I posted is probably about the right colour but the flash buggered it up a bit.

 

[timp]

Ok, so my dad bought himself a better camera and we've taken some much clearer pictures. This is the best one, click for a larger version:-

From your pictures Ben, I think it looks very much like the Polyspilota aeruginosa in the link you posted even though its alot fatter. What does everyone think?

 

[Ben.M]

Yup, i'de go with Polyspilota aeruginosa

 

[timp]

Yeah the thing that finally convinced me was the little marking on its wing.

Thanks for your help

 

[timp]

Is this species of mantis particularly rare or something? I am having real difficulty tracking one down

 

[Mantida]

They aren't rare, it's just that most breeders don't breed them.