P. chlorophaea, O. distinctus, and Rhombodera spp.

[Andrew]

WOW! Thats awesome. My males are subadult/subsubadult too, what good timing. Thanks!! :lol:

 

[Kruszakus]

Remember that the male will be useful for just about 2-3 weeks. I'd introduce him to the female 6-8 days after the final moult - plus, the female has to be really well fed, or she will backlash at the male.

By the way - anything hatched out of I. lateralis ooth?

 

[Mantida]

Congrats Andrew! I think my female is still subadult, though she's so tiny I can't be sure. :huh:

Kruszakus, how long does the female typically live? My males are at least 2 molts behind!

 

[Andrew]

Thanks for the tips.

Nothing from the I. lateralis ooth. I think I messed up with not enough humidity and keeping it too close to the heat lamp. I'm going to try and get some more in spring/summer.

Congrats Andrew! I think my female is still subadult, though she's so tiny I can't be sure. :huh:

Thanks. Its hard to tell exactly what stage they are if you lose track of the molts. They stay so tiny throughout their lives. >_<

 

[Kruszakus]

Well, if I don't screw up, then I might have some I. lateralis ooths sometime soon (four females are adult, two males are sub-adult).

Well - my female lived for three months, but I think that was because I was keeping her at 35C - she was popping ooths every three days - usually containing about 16-20 eggs, but there were only 14-16 ooths from her - and they can deposit up to 25, so I think that her death might have been premature.

 

[Morpheus uk]

Brilliant pic, they do look interesting but way to diddy lol,

Id say adult because of the shape of the end of the abdomen

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Sry didnt relise that was already answered

 

[Gruby626]

double post - delete please :/

 

[Gruby626]

she was popping ooths every three days - usually containing about 16-20 eggs, but there were only 14-16 ooths from her - and they can deposit up to 25.

You mean that 14-16 came out from the eggs, not that she layed 14-16 ooths ?

PS how many molts does Oxypilus needs to become adult? I mean in which L is it adult? I know only its the same for male and female.

 

[Kruszakus]

Yeah, she popped about 12 ooths which carried around 16-20 eggs - then she started laying really small enes, only 2-6 eggs per each - I knew that something bad was going on with her. The very first ooth was just huge! about 14-16 milimeters long - a really large number had emerged from it - first it was about 16, a couple of days later it was 12, if my memory serves me right.

I dont really know how many moults they need to become adult - some people say that it's 8 moults, but I believe that it's rather 5-6 instead - I really could not count all of them, since I was busy with some other species I was trying to breed at that time.

 

[Gruby626]

WoW I didn't know that they can lay so many ooths

 

[Kruszakus]

If you power feed them, they should lay one ooth every three, four days - quite stunning, isn't it?

One tip - strangely, they seem to enjoy crickets more than flys - I'd put on a little bee pollen coating on the cricket, they are rich in proteins, but the rest is not so great. An adult female may have only about 1.5 cm, but she will take on 2 cm cricket and tear it apart - they are extremely ferocious feeders.

 

[Andrew]

The other female molted

And I expect this male should be molting any time now!

 

[Mantida]

Probably in the next 24 hours - those wingbuds are so fat!

 

[Gurd]

Great pics

Good luck with them

 

[yen_saw]

Andrew, glad to see you are doing well with the O. distinctus. Great work!

 

[Andrew]

Thanks guys. The male molted last night, and while it was a successful molt, his wings did not dry properly! That could be my fault for using a heat lamp as a light source when trying to take video of the whole thing. I think the extra heat on his wings messed them up. >.<

Anyways, here are a few more photos. Seven of the Rhombodera are still alive and well, and I think five of them are subadult, and the other two are a molt behind still.

Male:

I think he will be molting soon!

And the female chowing down on a cricket:

 

[yen_saw]

Great job Andrew, so you only lost one from the L2 shield mantis batch from me

 

[Andrew]

Thanks Yen. Lost one to mismolt around L4/5. *facepalm*

First adult male today. How long do the males of this species live?

 

[Andrew]

The first texicorn molted to adult last night.

If only I had some males! Hopefully I'll be able to get some from Orin in the next week or two.

Also made an attempt at breeding the Oxypilus today. The female was given a large cricket, which she feasted on until there was virtually nothing left. The male tried to make a move, but waited until she had finished the cricket. There was a whole lot of boxing going on as the male tried to make his way to her, but she turned aggressive and he totally flipped. Fluttered up to the top of the cup(his wings don't look messed up anymore :blink: ) and ran a few laps. So I tried again, and moved him behind her more. She noticed him though, and the second she looked at him, he flipped out again.

Oh well. Will keep trying throughout the weekend.

 

[yen_saw]

Thanks Yen. Lost one to mismolt around L4/5. *facepalm*First adult male today. How long do the males of this species live?

The male will live for about 3-4 months, if not eaten by the female. HOw far behind is your female? I am sure you have plenty of time left. HOw many males do you have? Again, great job on rearing 7 out of the 8 survive this far. Moulting into adult is not as big of a hurdle compare to mating so you should get all adults aright, best of luck Andrew.

The first texicorn molted to adult last night. If only I had some males! Hopefully I'll be able to get some from Orin in the next week or two.

Also made an attempt at breeding the Oxypilus today. The female was given a large cricket, which she feasted on until there was virtually nothing left. The male tried to make a move, but waited until she had finished the cricket. There was a whole lot of boxing going on as the male tried to make his way to her, but she turned aggressive and he totally flipped. Fluttered up to the top of the cup(his wings don't look messed up anymore :blink: ) and ran a few laps. So I tried again, and moved him behind her more. She noticed him though, and the second she looked at him, he flipped out again.

Oh well. Will keep trying throughout the weekend.

THe female isn't ready yet by the souns of it, he may be hurt if the female beat him trying to mate so remove the male at once. Probably give the female a few good days before sending her into his cage again. Good luck!