Orchid Mantis Loves Honey! (L5 female)

[MajorManny]

This is my female orchid mantis, Sybil. She's an L5 in this picture but just molted to an L6. I thought I'd share this picture because she really loves the raw honey my neighbors give me from their personal beehives and she seems to prefer eating it off of my fingers. 

Her coloration varies a lot depending on how close she is to her molt, but she always has her little band of green.



(She came from Peter Clausen, by the way! She's been quite healthy and a lot of fun to care for.) 

 

[CosbyArt]

Sybil seems really tame, and loving the honey. Thanks for sharing, she has very pretty markings.

Do you plan on breeding her as an adult?

 

[HunniBunnixo]

Aww this is a really sweet photo!  :wub:  I love how gentle she appears and she must feel really safe to be able to do this. Thanks for posting and sharing about Sybil. She's beautiful! 

 

[Forthejaffas]

What a stunning mantis!! Just to inform you, The green band implies it is a female and a brown band implies it is a male. Have fun with your mantis!

 

[MajorManny]

Sybil seems really tame, and loving the honey. Thanks for sharing, she has very pretty markings.

Do you plan on breeding her as an adult?

Thank you so much! She can get a little frisky at times and is very aggressive when it comes to her food (I've seen her pretty much football-tackle a blue bottle fly), but she really does seem to trust me. Of course, I know it's because of the honey and the fact that I feed her, but it's fun to let her sit on my hand while I watch TV. 

I really would like to breed her, but I'm brand new to the hobby. She and my ghost mantis are my first. I also know I get pretty attached to pets, so I'm afraid it might be too hard for me when they die, plus I'd have to deal with the male orchid's death as well as the potential little nymphs. Still, it would be nice to have another mantis like her. To have her 'legacy' live on. xD 

 

[MajorManny]

Aww this is a really sweet photo!  :wub:  I love how gentle she appears and she must feel really safe to be able to do this. Thanks for posting and sharing about Sybil. She's beautiful! 

Ahh, thank you! I like to think she knows she's beautiful and flaunts herself a little. She's not gentle when it comes to her prey, but she's definitely gentle when she eats the honey off my hand. She's pretty fearless, even when she was a tiny L2, she never seemed intimidated by me, which is really neat.  :lol:

 

[MajorManny]

What a stunning mantis!! Just to inform you, The green band implies it is a female and a brown band implies it is a male. Have fun with your mantis!

Thank you! Also, thank you for the info! I've learned something new! It seems like her stripes are also a standard feature. Though she really does change colors a lot. Just yesterday she was super pink all over (even her head) but now it's mostly just her lower half. Her legs do always seem to have spots that always stand out and darken up, becoming more prominent even when she's very pink. 

 

[CosbyArt]

Thank you so much! She can get a little frisky at times and is very aggressive when it comes to her food (I've seen her pretty much football-tackle a blue bottle fly), but she really does seem to trust me. Of course, I know it's because of the honey and the fact that I feed her, but it's fun to let her sit on my hand while I watch TV. 

I really would like to breed her, but I'm brand new to the hobby. She and my ghost mantis are my first. I also know I get pretty attached to pets, so I'm afraid it might be too hard for me when they die, plus I'd have to deal with the male orchid's death as well as the potential little nymphs. Still, it would be nice to have another mantis like her. To have her 'legacy' live on. xD 

Sounds nice, I like the more expressive ones. I've had a few that would do a tackle, and some that seemed more like a spider (pulling up their prey from the bottom straight up the side of their habitats, common trait sure, but some do it almost freaky). Honey is a good way to win them over and to give them a special treat.

Indeed things could go wrong, but it's worth it versus her laying infertile ooths (I have a girl doing that now as I didn't get her a male, my Ghost). My first mantis a Carolina, laid plenty ooths and I got to sale/trade/give away several of her nymphs and raise a few too - great to think she still lives on.

 

[MajorManny]

Sounds nice, I like the more expressive ones. I've had a few that would do a tackle, and some that seemed more like a spider (pulling up their prey from the bottom straight up the side of their habitats, common trait sure, but some do it almost freaky). Honey is a good way to win them over and to give them a special treat.

Indeed things could go wrong, but it's worth it versus her laying infertile ooths (I have a girl doing that now as I didn't get her a male, my Ghost). My first mantis a Carolina, laid plenty ooths and I got to sale/trade/give away several of her nymphs and raise a few too - great to think she still lives on.

Well, I might be willing to if I had a male, but I got her at such a good price ($30!) and I doubt I could get another one for such a good deal. I'm not really equipped to take care of a bunch of little nymphs, but if someone wanted her 'genes' as a breeding partner, I'd gladly borrow the male and attempt to breed them. I'd send the ooth off, of course. Is this something people do often? I'd probably need to do it with someone who lives nearby. 

 

[CosbyArt]

Well, I might be willing to if I had a male, but I got her at such a good price ($30!) and I doubt I could get another one for such a good deal. I'm not really equipped to take care of a bunch of little nymphs, but if someone wanted her 'genes' as a breeding partner, I'd gladly borrow the male and attempt to breed them. I'd send the ooth off, of course. Is this something people do often? I'd probably need to do it with someone who lives nearby. 

It can be common depending on the keepers. If you are interested in such a deal post about it in the classifieds and see what becomes of it.

Of course if you don't want to bother, don't as there is no requirement to breed them to keep them as pets. Unlike a dog or a cat you can't neuter/spade a mantid, so they will lay ooths either way.