TheBeesKnees
Well-known member
Hi there!
I'm a shiny new member to this board!
I've always loved mantises, but living in canada, there wasn't much opportunity to spot them in the wild.
At the beginning of February this year, I decided to move across the world, and now find myself living on Phuket Island, Thailand! The mantids here are numerous and charming, and I've found at least three different species so far, and so many of 'em!
About a month ago, I came across an isolated mangrove tree on a stony beach--and while my significant other was attempting to identify the tree, he found himself face to face with a little nymph! As we investigated further, we had discovered the whole tree was simply full of these nymphs!!
Now, I have a personal rule against plucking creatures from the wild to keep as pets. I love insects a lot, and so if I hadn't established this rule for myself, I might take home and hoard every interesting critter I saw! However, this little mangrove hatchery successfully tempted me to break my rule. I went home, prepared a terrarium, and then returned the next day to fetch myself one of the smaller females from the tree. And so has begun my intrepid entry into the mantis keeping hobby. If I can raise this girl successfully, and with minimal heartbreak, I may keep at it!
My current problem lies in the fact that I am uncertain as to what species my girl is! I strongly suspect she's an h. membranacea (giant asian--they're very common in thailand), but that really depends on what instar she's at! Currently, she's only about an inch long, if you were to lay her flat. Someone mentioned that they think she's a subadult because they could see her wing buds, but I'm dubious. However, if she *is* a subadult, then she's certainly much too small to be an h. membranacea.
Here are some photos!:
Her name is Penh (named after เดือนเพ็ญ)
:] If anyone can confirm or rebuff my suspicions, I'd really appreciate it!
Here are some bonus photos of different nymphs that were found on the same tree:
I hope to learn a lot from my first try at keeping a mantis! And I hope even more that I've not made a mistake or doomed her by removing her from her populated tree to keep her in captivity, under the care of a complete novice like myself!
Cheers!
I'm a shiny new member to this board!
I've always loved mantises, but living in canada, there wasn't much opportunity to spot them in the wild.
At the beginning of February this year, I decided to move across the world, and now find myself living on Phuket Island, Thailand! The mantids here are numerous and charming, and I've found at least three different species so far, and so many of 'em!
About a month ago, I came across an isolated mangrove tree on a stony beach--and while my significant other was attempting to identify the tree, he found himself face to face with a little nymph! As we investigated further, we had discovered the whole tree was simply full of these nymphs!!
Now, I have a personal rule against plucking creatures from the wild to keep as pets. I love insects a lot, and so if I hadn't established this rule for myself, I might take home and hoard every interesting critter I saw! However, this little mangrove hatchery successfully tempted me to break my rule. I went home, prepared a terrarium, and then returned the next day to fetch myself one of the smaller females from the tree. And so has begun my intrepid entry into the mantis keeping hobby. If I can raise this girl successfully, and with minimal heartbreak, I may keep at it!
My current problem lies in the fact that I am uncertain as to what species my girl is! I strongly suspect she's an h. membranacea (giant asian--they're very common in thailand), but that really depends on what instar she's at! Currently, she's only about an inch long, if you were to lay her flat. Someone mentioned that they think she's a subadult because they could see her wing buds, but I'm dubious. However, if she *is* a subadult, then she's certainly much too small to be an h. membranacea.
Here are some photos!:
Her name is Penh (named after เดือนเพ็ญ)
:] If anyone can confirm or rebuff my suspicions, I'd really appreciate it!
Here are some bonus photos of different nymphs that were found on the same tree:
I hope to learn a lot from my first try at keeping a mantis! And I hope even more that I've not made a mistake or doomed her by removing her from her populated tree to keep her in captivity, under the care of a complete novice like myself!
Cheers!
Good to know!
