Mio, Mio, Mine!

[sporeworld]

My very first Mios (Miomantis or "Egyptian Mantis")JUST popped into the world. Possibly the smallest species I've ever kept.

I'm sure there's some joke I'm missing about "freedom" and "Egyptian", but I'm just too excited. Now where did I put those cigars (just kidding - no smoking in the bug room).

Any advice from all you "Gotta git yerself some Mio's" folk, would be greatly appreciated. Read most of the caresheets, but love to get the latest scoops!

 

[hibiscusmile]

I find as adults they can have problems if keep to moist, I only miss a couple times a week as ADULTS.

 

[psyconiko]

I found the best way is to leave all your Miomantis nymphs inside a well ventilated terra, jar,or whatever with branches(they love them) and to put a fruitflies culture inside the terrarium and let it roll!They are so small as nymphs they are hard to feed but they grow very very fast!once they have reach a decent size you can then separate them(they are not hardcore cannibals but better be careful).

As Hibiscusmile wrote,do not spray at will!Too much moist can kill them as they are very sensitive to humidity.

Miomantis are really nice,docile and have a kind of personnality(very interactive!).

I hope you will succeeD!

 

[dgerndt]

I disagree about the moisture. I spray my mios 2 - 3 times daily, and have never had any problems. They're a very hardy species.

 

[sporeworld]

These things are hard to kill! I let them dry out quite a bit for a week, and that had no ill effect. Then I put in soaked Vermiculite at the bottom and kept it super steamy for a week and that didn't kill em either.

They're now in another tall tank with a mesh top under the hot lights, and congregating uder the 100 plus area. Let's see if they STAY there...

No obvious signs of cannibalism, but I REALLY haven't tried to count them all. Well, I TRIED, but they all rushed me and I lost count at about 60! They are crazy-energetic!

 

[hibiscusmile]

dont hurt the babies! :blink:

 

[kitkat39]

These guys are like the ultimate care free mantis.. They survived in just about any condition I put them in. Even when I completely ignored them, I'd still have at least a pair as adult to continue on to a new generation of them. =)

 

[sporeworld]

dont hurt the babies! :blink:

Ha, ha! Sorry, I should have wrote "This species is realy hardy". I'm not actually trying to kill them.

They're happy now in the tall tanks. Most are just hanging out on the top, which isn't the most visually stunning presentation, but eh...

I like how clasically shaped they are. They keep their little butts straight most of the time, which is rare for the species I tend to keep. They're still not sure what to do with Houseflies, but they're watching... waiting...

 

[sporeworld]

First acts of cannibalism witnessed today. Exclusively from the newly molted (3rd Instar?) green ones. The Hyeidi aren't interesting enough, I suspect, and we're a day behind on house flies. Blue Bottles are still too big (although, they're thinking about it). I hate to separate them, but the size difference in this molt is pretty dramatic. Might drop the temp down a bit to curb their appetites.

 

[dgerndt]

3rd instar is about where I saw color changes, as well. Too bad about the cannibalism... It happens, although not often.

 

[sporeworld]

Dropped temps and introduced small crickets until house flies are properly prepared. This has minimized, if not halted the cannibalism. But at this instar they are visibly less... gregarious (love that word). They don't cluster anymore. :-(

 

[hibiscusmile]

This species is bad for eating each other. hey u see the commercial, (don't know why this remind me of it) but where there is a bad man holding a clerk and 2 m & m s hostage and he says if his demans are not met he will eat one of the hostages? :lol: and the m & m says to the other one, I think he's gonna eat gary (the clerk)

 

[sporeworld]

Ha, ha, ha!

I also think a contributing factor was that the newly molted mantids were a LOT larger than the smaller, unmolted ones. They're stable now, and starting to gather (a little) closer.

 

[dgerndt]

It's good to hear they're doing well. How many do you have left?

 

[sporeworld]

A zillion. (ha ha). Not sure, really. Haven't counted, but quite a few. Different colors, too, which I didn't expect. Brown, tan, green, blueish-green. I'm glad there's variation.

I think they're going to be exclusively fly-fed. See if that can work. They're all on Houseflies now, but still too timid (and small) for BB's. Creos, on the other hand... Jeebuz! What an appetite!

 

[wyethia]

A zillion. (ha ha). Not sure, really. Haven't counted, but quite a few. Different colors, too, which I didn't expect. Brown, tan, green, blueish-green. I'm glad there's variation.

I think they're going to be exclusively fly-fed. See if that can work. They're all on Houseflies now, but still too timid (and small) for BB's. Creos, on the other hand... Jeebuz! What an appetite!

how big where they (what instar) when they started taking down house flies?

I just separated my two because one had molted and its been two days and the other hasn't molted yet--talk about a size difference! and she (i assume, lol) is so active adn big. I was sure "he" was going to be her next meal.

Wyethia

 

[dgerndt]

I love the color variation as well. I have a yellow green female and a sea foam green male.

 

[sporeworld]

Honestly not sure - at least L3. Almost exactly 2 centimeters long.

 

[sporeworld]

Just an update, I have many adults now, and they are really aggressive towards prey (and unwary siblings).

Here's a pic of one mio munching a pretty big cricket...