New black coloring at bottom tip of abdomen?

[Emckenzie24]

My pregnant New Zealand mantis has been doing quite well, but I noticed a couple days ago that her bottom (tip of the abdomen) has turned black. She seems alright, but I'm worried about this new change. What do you think it is and what should I do? She's very important to me.

 

[aNisip]

Don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but it isn't good...whenever mantises develop black spots or areas on their body, it is usally some sort of infection. Make sure she has ample supply of drinklable water...

All the best,

Andrew

 

[Malakyoma]

Don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but it isn't good...whenever mantises develop black spots or areas on their body, it is usally some sort of infection. Make sure she has ample supply of drinklable water...

All the best,

Andrew

You're always so quick with the depressing input

McKenzie I would keep a close eye on it. Andrew is partially right that infections are primarily diagnosed by discolouration, but not all discolourations mean its an infection. Could be almost anything.

Give her lots of water, avoid feeding crickets if you can, keep an eye on it. If it get worse post pictures here. It also wouldn't hurt to augment her diet with honey and crushed bee pollen. These have been known to work almost like medicine for mantids.

 

[Sticky]

Put some honey on it if you can. It helps kill bacteria. It wont make her better completely but it will keep it from spreading.

 

[Domanating]

I hate to have to support what AndrewNisip said but It's not good news at all. I interpret those black spots as a compromised immune system. Your mantis is too old and is no longer able to defend itself from infections. From my personal experience most mantids I kept had less than 1 week /1 week and a half left to live after the appearance of such spots. At start they do seem normal but their health will degrade really fast.

I did have some rare cases however, where mantids lived 1 month or more with huge rock solid infections in their abdomen.

Here are 2 examples:

In this pic there's a relatively small black spot right below the wings. The female died 2 days later

In this one there's a massive infection covering nearly the entire height of the abdomen. The female lived another month and half, perhaps near 2 months after the 1st appearance of the infection

 

[agent A]

what i find kinda sad is we can say "oh the black is an infection" but we still don't know how to treat it and deal with the issue, the mantis ends up dying and the vicious cycle repeats whenever someone else has the same issue

we have vets who can treat dogs, cats, even amphibs but still very little can be done to help a sick insect

i think the most survivable health issue is a mismolt but it's very depressing to see so many of these topics end with someone saying "the mantis died the other day" or something :no:

 

[Domanating]

we have vets who can treat dogs, cats, even amphibs but still very little can be done to help a sick insect

Maybe because the % of people that actually has insects or arachnids as pets is 0.001 in the entire world. It would be one of the weirdest jobs too, in my opinion.

 

[Mvalenz]

One of my H. Majusculas had this black spot on its back. It died a few weeks later.

 

[Digger]

what i find kinda sad is we can say "oh the black is an infection" but we still don't know how to treat it and deal with the issue, the mantis ends up dying and the vicious cycle repeats whenever someone else has the same issue

we have vets who can treat dogs, cats, even amphibs but still very little can be done to help a sick insect

i think the most survivable health issue is a mismolt but it's very depressing to see so many of these topics end with someone saying "the mantis died the other day" or something :no:

One method to get more quantitative information on situations like this is to access entomologists who are expert in mantid pathology. One of the best is at University of Maryland. These researchers are generally very approachable by lay people such as ourselves due to our passion and knowledge of the researcher's subject. Further, we can often bring them ideas for grad student investigation. Next time I'm down to College Park, Md, I'll see if I can get him coralled for coffee. Bet he's well aware of MantidForum.

 

[D_Hemptress]

Maybe because the % of people that actually has insects or arachnids as pets is 0.001 in the entire world. It would be one of the weirdest jobs too, in my opinion.

that and its said that bugs do not feel the pain (not sure if i agree with that) that other animals feel. a dog with a broken leg will limp and have issues walking. a mantis with a broken leg from my experience doesnt usually have the same experience

 

[Sticky]

All creatures feel pain of some kind. It exists to tell you that something is very wrong and to avoid what causes it. H ggvhh

 

[Domanating]

All creatures feel pain of some kind. It exists to tell you that something is very wrong and to avoid what causes it. H ggvhh

Arthropods in general do feel that something happened and know they lost a limb or something else. However It was not yet proven that insects have pain sensors, at least not the same way the other animal families do.

 

[Emckenzie24]

Thank you all, I appreciate your help very much. I don't know what could have caused an infection. I haven't seen this before on my mantids. I'm looking at her now and it almost looks like she has been trying to lay another ooth but it's stuck? Though it is definitely black/dark brown. I put honey on it and she started pumping her abdomen (she's eating a worm at the same time). I shall try to get a photo. I am going to feed her honey and hope her health doesn't degrade. She seems like her normal active self.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

How old is she? Toward the end of their lifespans their bodies can start to shut down on them when their time is nearing. If she is on the younger side then I would first check cage settings. Make sure there is enough airflow so the humidity isn't creating a stagnant environment. If the environment is good and the feeders seem healthy than sadly it is just one of those things that can happen sometimes. The most we can do is try our best to provide a healthy environment.

 

[Emckenzie24]

I got her back in July and she was L4 then. I had her out for a good bit and gave her food, honey, and water. I will definitely monitor closely to ensure everything is ideal/healthy.

 

[Sticky]

How is she today?