Please help!

[Sticky]

I just found my Hierodula xaenensis Ghost dead! She has turned dark and so sft she is falling apart like a rotting fruit. She was fine yesterday. This is the same thing that happened to my Heather mantis. Here are some pics I just took. What could be causing this? There no poisons here, nothing I can think on. All thoughts are welcome.

 

[Sticky]

Oh, a picture of her alive is my avatar.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

How old was she? I had a couple mantises literally fall apart after passing, but they were all very old.

 

[Sticky]

She was about middle age. Her sister died of old age, but Ghost seemed younger even thought they were the same age.

 

[Bloodtkr]

Doesn't take long to decay. I had a sub adult shield mantis do that. Ate a cricket one day dead the next..but I'm pretty sure my cat swatted her in the cage. The next day when I took it out the same thing happened.. Fell apart ; (

 

[MantidBro]

ive never seen anything like that. Thats weird. Not sure what caused her to turn black like that.

 

[LAME]

Man that's horrible, I'm sorry Sticky =/

 

[Digger]

This is awful, Sticky. Looks like foul play to me. Keep an eye peeled for strangers around town.

So sorry to see her gruesome ending

 

[Ranitomeya]

When mantises die, they tend to turn back very quickly due to the fact that the digestive enzymes within themselves begin to go to work against their own bodies.

 

[[email protected]]

She was fine? Did she eat anything different? Did she accidentally get too hot? That is weird.

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[CosbyArt]

Not sure what happened there but sorry for the lost of your Ghost.

I know when my adult mantis died she began to darken slightly as she was dying, but never turned black or fell apart (even by the next day). But who's to say that they sometimes don't, but it is odd her abdomen didn't darken too.

 

[Sticky]

Nothing was out of the ordinary. I still think it was a roach carrying something. I asked one of the sellers about it and he said there have been no complaints about his. It could be from another. Big roach farm, easy for something to grow and hide in the roaches.

Typhoid Mary came to mind yesterday. I had to destroy a third generation of Antharaea polyphemus as they were carriers of Grasserie. It was introduced into my home by silkworms had bought. They were fine themselves but all other caterpillars I found and brought home died within two hours. Sadness!

 

[Sticky]

Ranitomya, my two females turned black extremely fast. I've had mantids for about four years and have seen lots of dead ones but they never turned black this.

 

[Sticky]

If anyone is interested in testing her for bacteria I would be willing to mail her to them. She is in my freezer at the moment. I dont have any scienctific equipment to do testing. I would really like to know what this is. It is not the normal "black death" for sure.

 

[[email protected]]

I wish I could help. I'm having the same problem trying to ID what killed my babies. Freezing actually kills most bacteria. The only way I could do it is by trying to grow something on a petri dish from my school. I hope someone else can help you!

 

[Sticky]

I would like help very much. I wish I knew how to do the testing, I'd do it myself. If anyone has a suggestion, I would like to hear it.

Meanwhile, my two girls are still in the freezer. I dont dare put them outside, I dont want whatever this is to possibly contaminate the environment.

 

[idologrl]

I'm so sorry Sticky! I hurt when we loose our babies after putting so much love and time into them.. I hope you fine the answers you're looking for.