pseudoharpax virescen

[iceman1609]

hi guys ive just purchased a gambian flower mantis ooth and was wondering if these little mantids are communal as ive read they are aggresive feeders. any info on this species would be nice, i know quite a few of you either have these or have had them so please a little help i really want these to succeed

 

[nympho]

hi guys ive just purchased a gambian flower mantis ooth and was wondering if these little mantids are communal as ive read they are aggresive feeders. any info on this species would be nice, i know quite a few of you either have these or have had them so please a little help i really want these to succeed

hi. they are not canabalistic as long as they have lots of fruit flies to eat, they generally run away when they bump into each other. or display, and then run away! i never saw them stalk each other, although i wouldnt totally trust hungry adult females. you can feed them on ff till they are nearly full grown as they are a v small mantis. adults can take green bottles or medium bluebottles as they are quite strong for there size. even my adult females would eat ff. newly hatched its worrying as can barely even take a ff, but they do eventually get stuck in.

this is important. i lost alot of mine to shedding problems, (their rear legs kept getting stuck) so keep the humidity fairly high. spraying every couple of days should be enough esp when they are going to shed. you might want to use a lamp to get temps of 25c + too as they like high temps!

 

[iceman1609]

hi. they are not canabalistic as long as they have lots of fruit flies to eat, they generally run away when they bump into each other. or display, and then run away! i never saw them stalk each other, although i wouldnt totally trust hungry adult females. you can feed them on ff till they are nearly full grown as they are a v small mantis. adults can take green bottles or medium bluebottles as they are quite strong for there size. even my adult females would eat ff. newly hatched its worrying as can barely even take a ff, but they do eventually get stuck in.this is important. i lost alot of mine to shedding problems, (their rear legs kept getting stuck) so keep the humidity fairly high. spraying every couple of days should be enough esp when they are going to shed. you might want to use a lamp to get temps of 25c + too as they like high temps!

thankyou very much for that, i have only 1 more question i can think of that is are these easy enough to *** being as small as they are i imagine it being quite difficult and i dont have a camera as good as mj's setup so pics wouldnt be too good if and when its time.

 

[nympho]

thankyou very much for that, i have only 1 more question i can think of that is are these easy enough to *** being as small as they are i imagine it being quite difficult and i dont have a camera as good as mj's setup so pics wouldnt be too good if and when its time.

you can definately tell at subadult as the male antenae are longer. you'd have dificulty much earlier though :mellow:

 

[iceman1609]

hi there, ive just recieved the ooths and they re tiny, would you say using a heat gun would be the best way to hangthe tiny ooths ? you say that they are best with high humidity so would a small heatmat be better to help increase ?

 

[nympho]

hi there, ive just recieved the ooths and they re tiny, would you say using a heat gun would be the best way to hangthe tiny ooths ? you say that they are best with high humidity so would a small heatmat be better to help increase ?

yep the ooths are tiny. but the nymps that come out are not THAT tiny its amazing they all fit in. you need some kind of heating esp in winter so cage is about 25c. but that will tend to dry it out quickly. you need to mist the cage and the nymphs alittle with water every few days to raise the humidity and they can drink. not too much the condensation dosnt go away after a while so it dry again. you dont want mould forming. this will help them moult propery. as i said i was stupid not to mist and they kept getting legs stuck in the old skin. when i started misting again they moulted ok.

i stuck mine with a really tiny bit of epoxy. not sure it is toxic, but they hatched ok. glue gun would be ok if your careful i suppose. ive neve used one. just dont get any on the hatching surface

 

[iceman1609]

yep the ooths are tiny. but the nymps that come out are not THAT tiny its amazing they all fit in. you need some kind of heating esp in winter so cage is about 25c. but that will tend to dry it out quickly. you need to mist the cage and the nymphs alittle with water every few days to raise the humidity and they can drink. not too much the condensation dosnt go away after a while so it dry again. you dont want mould forming. this will help them moult propery. as i said i was stupid not to mist and they kept getting legs stuck in the old skin. when i started misting again they moulted ok. i stuck mine with a really tiny bit of epoxy. not sure it is toxic, but they hatched ok. glue gun would be ok if your careful i suppose. ive neve used one. just dont get any on the hatching surface

thankyou very much for your help, i hope i can get this right first time round