Ootheca pic

[Hypoponera]

For the females, the wing color is the easiest feature to ID. Limbata females have a lemon-yellow hind wing. The S. californica females have brown hind wings with purplish highlights. The male S. californica has 4 dark bands on the upper surface of the abdomen. The male S. limbata lacks the bands. But the bands are really only easily seen on DEAD specimens. They seem to be the only ones that will sit still long enough to show the bands.

 

[ABbuggin]

I'm still positive that they are not S. carolina. The thorax and abdomen of your female is much thicker than on any S. carolina I've seen. I've also never seen a yellow S. carolina, I've only seen green, grey, black, and a color I cant describe. lol (I'll post pics sometime). Your female just looks a LOT "beefier" than a S. carolina. How long is she by the way?

EDIT: I just got an idea. Seeing that all the possibilities of what your mantids could be, are of the same genus, it is possible for them to have of cross bred. Maybe, you just happened to pick up a cross bred species? Just an idea.

 

[galapoheros]

Going by info Hypoponera posted also, it's not S. carolina like you said. Seems too odd to me that it would be a xbred species but I don't know, seems to be S. limbata. One fell while molting several days ago. If I remember, the wing was half yellow and half black ...maybe more yellow than there was black. I'll get a better pic of the wings sooner or later. Here are some more pics. Oh and the fems are around 2.5 inches.

 

[galapoheros]

I decided to work at getting a wing pic. Typical S. limbata wing pattern? OK well thanks everybody, I think I'm through with this one.