OMG!

[Arwen9]

I am convinced now that the other mantids I've raised were Religosa and not Chinese, even if I thought they were the latter.

Today, my female Chinese molted to subadult. When I checked on her to see how it was progressing, I sat there, mouth open, dumbfounded at how Freaking Huge! she is compared to before or compared to the other mantids I've raised. Good heavens, and she's not adult yet. Somehow reading 4-6 inches and seeing 4-6 inches is completely different.

I'm just...wowed right now. :blink:

 

[GreenOasis]

Heh, heh...yeah, same here. I haven't even seen a real live adult Chinese since I as a kid (seemed really huge then!) and I thought when my babies hit the 2 1/2" mark & had little wing buds that they only had one more molt to go...NOPE! They are now in the 3-3 1/2" range & STILL growing! Funny how they seem like large breed puppies or newborn foals at this age...ALL LEGS!

 

[patrickfraser]

Heh, heh...yeah, same here. I haven't even seen a real live adult Chinese since I as a kid (seemed really huge then!) and I thought when my babies hit the 2 1/2" mark & had little wing buds that they only had one more molt to go...NOPE! They are now in the 3-3 1/2" range & STILL growing! Funny how they seem like large breed puppies or newborn foals at this age...ALL LEGS!

and flopping bellies when gorged. My babies are never hungry.

 

[Arwen9]

lol to both of you.

Yeah, she is completely out of her skin now, sitting beneath the light in her tank. She looks all legs right now, spindly and unsteady on her feet.

I'm thrilled right now as well because, if they hold true to form, my two males should molt as well in the next week. No more worries about crickets/moths/etc being too big for them.

 

[Schloaty]

Somehow reading 4-6 inches and seeing 4-6 inches is completely different. I'm just...wowed right now.

I read this and just laughed and laughed.

I'm so bad.

 

[patrickfraser]

LOL. What is it like to touch 4-6 inches? How does it feel?

 

[Arwen9]

LOL. What is it like to touch 4-6 inches? How does it feel?

Lol. You are both EVIL.

I'm referring to the MANTIS. Get your minds out of the gutter. :lol:

 

[dgerndt]

Haha, I know the feeling! I was raising Egyptians (which are 1.5 inches full grown) at the same time as Chinese. I was always astounded by how HUGE my Chinese was after a molt. He seemed to quadruple in size every time. :lol:

 

[lancaster1313]

I don't have any Chinese mantids at the moment, but I have been looking at some photos of them on my phone. Even my smallest runty female was a "big" bug. :lol: I have a photo of my daughter handling her on my phone's home screen and when I show people the pic, they are like, "That is huge." and, "You actually touch that?"

I miss my Chinese mantids.
:wub:

 

[dgerndt]

I know how that is, too. :lol: I miss having a big Chinese. They're so fun to hold and the coolest to show to people who don't have them. I just got four little ones in the mail today! I'm so happy to be back with the species that started it all for me.