Possibly an h. membranacea?

[TheBeesKnees]

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!

 

[SilentDeviL]

I don't think they are h. membranacea . I have keeped h. membranacea before they have longer body and longer legs..

 

[TheBeesKnees]

ah, alright! Good to know!
I don't suppose there's anyone out there who might be able to ID her species then? I imagine IDing nymphs as opposed to adults and sub-adults can get pretty tricky... A lot of them look so similar (at least to untrained eyes like mine)!

 

[Vlodek]

I agree with SilendDevil. Those nymphs are definitely some kind of mantids from genus Hierodula sp. The problem is that all species within this genus look so alike that it's tricky to identify them to species.

 

[mantiseater]

maybe some kind of sphodromantis

 

[Vlodek]

In Thailand? Sphodromantis are found in Africa not South East Asia.

 

[SilentDeviL]

In Thailand? Sphodromantis are found in Africa not South East Asia.

Agreed with Vlodek .

 

[GhostYeahX]

hierodula multispina

 

[Extrememantid]

maybe some kind of sphodromantis

Wrong part of the world

 

[Vlodek]

hierodula multispina

That could be it. Here is a key to identification of Hierodula genus:

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_7af1097d0101dwpt.html

It's in Chinese but google translate can fit it.

 

[mantiseater]

In Thailand? Sphodromantis are found in Africa not South East Asia.

Never mind I didnt read what he wrote i just looked at the pics

 

[TheBeesKnees]

Okay, so I'm thinking then that she's maaay be a smaller member of the Hierodula family. I assume they all generally require the same kind of care? Maybe I'll eventually start a thread in the photo section to visually document her growth (also, mantids are just so fun and easy to photograph so how could I resist?)

@GhostYeahx Ah hah! I'm inclined to believe you (thanks)!! A quick google search tells me this species gets quite large! Is my nymph in an earlier instar? I guessed around L4, someone else on another website guessed sub-adult. In all honesty, my guess is extremely uneducated and inexperienced, so I don't really trust my judgement haha!

I've had Penh for about 2-3 weeks, and no signs of molting yet (but a very ravenous appetite)! So that might be a sign that maybe she's in a later stage than I assumed?

Thank you, guys!! You're all extremely helpful!

 

[GhostYeahX]

That could be it. Here is a key to identification of Hierodula genus:

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_7af1097d0101dwpt.html

It's in Chinese but google translate can fit it.

well that one was written by my friend actually lol

 

[GhostYeahX]

ok talked with my friend who is a professional mantis scholar and he said, the green one is Hierodula saussure

 

[TheBeesKnees]

huh! Just the larger green one in this photo? (Or do you mean Penh?) Does that mean the smaller nymphs like my girl, and the little brown one in the bottom photo are a different species? There was certainly quite a dramatic size difference, and there were a few nymphs like the larger green lass on that tree along with the smaller nymphs (there was one brown male who was big and juicy like her, too!).

It seems that little mangrove tree was quite the happenin' place for all the hip, young mantises to hang out and and eat (possibly each other). Might those larger mantids have been preying on the smaller nymphs? I wished I could just ship the whole tree over to you guys, I have a feeling you'd all have a field day with it (I certainly did)!

 

[Extrememantid]

huh! Just the larger green one in this photo? (Or do you mean Penh?) Does that mean the smaller nymphs like my girl, and the little brown one in the bottom photo are a different species? There was certainly quite a dramatic size difference, and there were a few nymphs like the larger green lass on that tree along with the smaller nymphs (there was one brown male who was big and juicy like her, too!).

It seems that little mangrove tree was quite the happenin' place for all the hip, young mantises to hang out and and eat (possibly each other). Might those larger mantids have been preying on the smaller nymphs? I wished I could just ship the whole tree over to you guys, I have a feeling you'd all have a field day with it (I certainly did)!

I think the other ones are an earlier instar then the big one. The large green one looks pre-sub I think.

 

[Digger]

Bees: Your third photograph made me crazy!! What an absolute CUTIEE !!

 

[TheBeesKnees]

@Extrememantid ah, good to know, thank you!! If the larger green lass is a molt ahead, and is pre-sub, and that means my little Penh has three molts to go through yet--she's going to end up being quite large indeed! How exciting (But also a little stressful! I've been reading up on molting just to make sure I'm adequately prepared, and have read many horror stories by heart broken mantis keepers. Fingers crossed for my girl to be hardy and have all successful molts!)

@Digger aww I'm so glad you like, thank you!! They certainly do have a very photogenic charm, Mantids. And they almost appear to have unique personalities/temperaments, too! (At least, it seems this way by the small amount of time I've spend with the individuals I didn't take home). Penh is particularly cheeky, I think! hehehe.

 

[Sticky]

I dont know the official meaning for Hierodula, but I think it means Determination! I love that family, they show so much personality. They are many different personalities, from very dominant to sweet and gentle. You have great babies there. I wish you could send some of them here to the US. But Im affraid of custom.