OMG! Color Changing Mantids?

[tenoderaterror]

Okay. My T. Sinensis was out on my finger and had the usual light brown color. I noticed that she looked hungry, so I got out a cricket.

Then, I put her in a smaller enclosure with the cricket, but when the cricket was just out of strike range, I noticed that her color had changed to a more purplish shade of shale. They were only in there about two minutes, so that was really quick, and I hadn't moved the enclosure, so lighting can't be a factor. Also, I had looked at my mantis when she was just hanging around, and she looked brown.

Keegan

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[lunarstorm]

Other than color changes that happen after molting, mantids don't change colors. If you have a mantis with extraordinary powers of color changing and can prove it repeatedly with ease, your story would become famous by news organizations and your mantis would be worthy of intense scientific scrutiny.

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Well maybe but, I've found that a change in temp in some Gongy and also Chinese can change there hue a shade or two, so it's not that unbelievable to me.

 

[meaganelise9]

do you have a heat lamp? the night bulb i have makes the green leaves in the containers look deep red.

 

[tenoderaterror]

I don't have a heat lamp.

 

[Ntsees]

Lunarstorm would be right if it is true that you have a mantid that can change colors as you have described. Anyways, did the color change occur throughout the entire body of the mantid or was it just located at the thorax section?

 

[Rick]

It isn't changing color, sorry.

 

[Psychobunny]

Mantids can change color after molting.

There are no mantid species that can change color at will.

Your mantis may look like it is changing color due to your lighting.

It may appear one color in fluorescent light, and a different color in sun light.