My boy Chlord enjoying some pollen...

[nzxmUyZNKEBoqN3e]

I got some pollen granules recently and have great success feeding it to my spiny - he loves it! My violins don't seem to care and I'm still not handling the humeralis and aurea as they are too small. Chlord should be squaring up for his final moult, if my timings are correct. My only complaint about spinys is that they are too small - apart from that, they're absolutely wizard!

 

[nzxmUyZNKEBoqN3e]

So fun fact - Chlord just moulted. And no wings. So, the running theory is that he is a she! She is now L7 and no wings in sight, plus it was only 2.5 weeks since the final moult. Fun!

 

[MantisGirl13]

Chlord is definitely male. 

- MantisGirl13

 

[nzxmUyZNKEBoqN3e]

Chlord is definitely male. 

- MantisGirl13

Oh blimey, I've got my moults in a muddle then..  I'm 90% sure he is an L7, is that not the adult moult of a male? At least, that's what it suggests here although my mam did always warn me about what I read on the Internet 

 

[MantisGirl13]

Sometimes a mantis will skip a molt or have an extra molt, so it's not a very reliable way to tell gender. Personally, I don't usually keep track of instars past L6.

- MantisGirl13

 

[nzxmUyZNKEBoqN3e]

Really? Crumbs  well, as ever, thank you for your expertise!