New mantises!

[cdcrocks]

So my dad "taught" me how to use his big fancy camera (he put it in program mode and told me to play with the zoom and focus) and I took some pictures of the mantises I got for my birthday!

M. caffra adult female



M. caffra adult male who refused to stay still



R. valida L8 female



And here's a couple I took last night of a Chinese nymph I have to hand feed, after she was done with her meal.

 

[Sticky]

Cute pics! They all look like great mantids. I hope you share more.

Why do you have to handfeed your chinese?

 

[Aryia]

Oh the M. Caffra males love to flutter around.

Lovely pictures ^^ One day I will finally invest in a camera too hehe

 

[cdcrocks]

Thank you!!

She just doesn't go for any food. I say handfeed, but I should say force feed. I have to pull a cricket's head off and give her the tasty meaty bits, which she'll take a couple bites of before she decides she likes it. Then, she takes it and eats it on her own, and I put a cup over her on the table and continue doing whatever I need to do while she's eating. The rest of her siblings are happy to catch the crickets on their own.

 

[cdcrocks]

Yes, the male fluttered a few inches and scared the out of me! I have three cats who love to catch moths, and he doesn't look much different to them, so I'm glad he didn't take off.

 

[Aryia]

My cats are a nightmare.. and I can't keep them out of the mantis room no matter how hard I try. They slip past me the second I open the door!

I've had a lot of luck introducing the male right behind the female for M. Caffra btw. If he fails to notice her or just freaks out after about 10 minutes I just remove him. Otherwise the female does notice him and thinks "what a tasty snack!". They seem to eat no matter how full they are >.<

 

[cdcrocks]

I went to get the male out to try and breed, but he was on the bottom of his container, on his back, twitching. I think he's mostly paralyzed. His hind legs are sort of curled in. I've never had this happen to a healthy mantis before! I'm not sure what to do...