Coneja
Well-known member
After lurking around this site a bit and debating about it for a couple of months, I got my first mantis two weeks ago. (I live in an apartment while I'm at school and we're not allowed to have pets except for fish... I thought a mantis might be an acceptable substitute...) He (seems to have 7-8 abdomen segments) is a Hierodula patellifera nymph with one short antenna and an undersized tarsus on his left raptorial. I decided to name him Siri, after a protagonist from a Peter Watts novel. He's been a joy to watch and even my roommates are a little charmed by him.
My favorite picture, because of those eyes.
He can be a little skittish when there's a lot of people around, and when two of my roommates came over to take pictures when I first moved in with him, he took a flying leap at one of their camera phones! I had no idea he could jump that far, so now I'm VERY careful whenever I get him out.
One thing I was surprised about when I got him was all the subtle colors that mantids have, even the "big greens." Siri is an L2 in these pictures (how he came to me, although he's since molted and he's gotten some new dark banding on his legs since.)
Siri's "Lion King" pose:
After his molt:
I was amazed by his size increase after his molt.... He did it at night while I was sleeping (probably good, because I would have worried he would've fallen) and was noticeably bigger with a larger left tarsus too. (He still favors it when he walks, as it doesn't stick to the plastic of his little home as easily.) I am also amazed by how many flies he can eat, particularly after his molt, although sometimes his hobby is eating half of the torso then flinging the rest across the enclosure. He has since been a little less wasteful, for which I'm grateful.
Anyway, I've just been so excited about him that I wanted to share with some other enthusiasts. And yes, I'm already toying with the idea of getting another after he's gotten a little older...
My favorite picture, because of those eyes.
He can be a little skittish when there's a lot of people around, and when two of my roommates came over to take pictures when I first moved in with him, he took a flying leap at one of their camera phones! I had no idea he could jump that far, so now I'm VERY careful whenever I get him out.
One thing I was surprised about when I got him was all the subtle colors that mantids have, even the "big greens." Siri is an L2 in these pictures (how he came to me, although he's since molted and he's gotten some new dark banding on his legs since.)
Siri's "Lion King" pose:
After his molt:
I was amazed by his size increase after his molt.... He did it at night while I was sleeping (probably good, because I would have worried he would've fallen) and was noticeably bigger with a larger left tarsus too. (He still favors it when he walks, as it doesn't stick to the plastic of his little home as easily.) I am also amazed by how many flies he can eat, particularly after his molt, although sometimes his hobby is eating half of the torso then flinging the rest across the enclosure.
He has since been a little less wasteful, for which I'm grateful.Anyway, I've just been so excited about him that I wanted to share with some other enthusiasts. And yes, I'm already toying with the idea of getting another after he's gotten a little older...
