Purple Spiny flower mantises

[happy1892]

The Spiny flower mantises seems to change color to match its surrounding color. I think they do it over a few days just after molting because I had one nymph I placed into a container with a dark ootheca soon after molting, and it turned an unusually dark color close to the color of the dark ootheca it was sitting on.

Here are pictures of purple and pink P. wahlbergii:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...curbj3LEuftEd5VdkM-d95QBvwPP5LROyqIYfKrOhss98
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...m3zbsiUbMzG-D6GnrzLBO30_UtwLf1R9Y1aJTgNHECrTk
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...uoNuU6uIL_Tb0wgHHg8ipRU9UJAultfvQsQuXYOqiFTiQ
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...taZ7xx0TxPnupXtXypgF1Vnnaqt-gWtveiKVpOQG76RQs
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...Ab85eNSvBM9ySK0kLHAGttX1lMjbFkNFHx5ssIyt3P4SE
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...xOboxCpypDOknltgc2Tpjrw1VR2KLbZ5JDHQ0Qf6nhU-0
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...XcJloQgLDwBL98lDJ_ueICcRPY6-c4ABr8eB83WGqXl0k
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...NwZrRjO7tNWsxQNTq1pSYArX41BRdqWPnUvaGtQAQy4HU
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...NwZrRjO7tNWsxQNTq1pSYArX41BRdqWPnUvaGtQAQy4HU
These string of photos of different P. wahlbergii show how they match the colors of the different plants and flowers they are on:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...FgvxwWPh_YDbgN_PKNLjc3wVhl52aCgVCEZGO9j3JmZUM
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...ghB-MvePyPsqTKjQNsJ74x7Y2ZB4b1Eh9dMoexg5SE6qg
https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.am...OelWw7lOXXEnPfdQklbwVfulwvSGT9ioCpZH0pcYnv94E
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa...OqGPYHl__lox2MDPvoa8R6NMj00SQe_G9tBsWcqFIkcmg
Here is a green one:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observa..._SUOBvoH49dGjA_C6jt1NDhQr3a-aHABxrrSuUwdM54M8

 

[agent A]

I'd love to see what the UV light emitted from these looks like, especially given how they attack flower-visiting insects

 

[happy1892]

I'd love to see what the UV light emitted from these looks like, especially given how they attack flower-visiting insects

Would the UV light attract insects they eat? I read about the Orchid mantis actually attracting insects better than the flowers.

 

[River Dane]

I had a pretty vibrantly colored female a few months back, though still not comparable to some of those photos from iNaturalist! She eventually faded back to a more typical white color as she got older, peaking in color I believe around L5-ish.

She passed just before her final molt

 

[happy1892]

I had a pretty vibrantly colored female a few months back, though still not comparable to some of those photos from iNaturalist! She eventually faded back to a more typical white color as she got older, peaking in color I believe around L5-ish.

View attachment 20801
View attachment 20803

She passed just before her final molt

I haven't had a P. wahlbergii nymph that pink yet. I have seen a few that were slightly pink at L5, but then they would loose the pinkness as they got older, just like what you said happened with yours.

 

[River Dane]

Late reply, lol, but it may have either been light exposure or heat. I kept her outside in the shade over summer, and ofc in SoCal, it was pretty dang warm. So I'm not sure if it has to do with sun exposure, heat, or both, but something I may experiment with further. The ones I got from you have been kept indoors, by a window, but still far out of the sun and much cooler and darker than outdoor shade, and only one female got moderately colored.

 

[happy1892]

That is very interesting about the natural light possibly helping to turn them pink or purple. Yes, I think temperature may have something to do with the purple/pink coloring because I was keeping many Spiny flower mantis nymphs cool, down in the 70s F. But then when I warmed the Spiny flower mantis nymphs up in the 80s F some colored up to a fair amount of pink.

I may try keeping some Spiny flower nymphs outdoors someday to see if the natural light helps them color up. Of course I won't leave them in the sun unless the container is a well ventilated net cage. The sun would roast them!

 

[happy1892]

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[River Dane]

That is very interesting about the natural light possibly helping to turn them pink or purple. Yes, I think temperature may have something to do with the purple/pink coloring because I was keeping many Spiny flower mantis nymphs cool, down in the 70s F. But then when I warmed the Spiny flower mantis nymphs up in the 80s F some colored up to a fair amount of pink.

I may try keeping some Spiny flower nymphs outdoors someday to see if the natural light helps them color up. Of course I won't leave them in the sun unless the container is a well ventilated net cage. The sun would roast them!

Interesting! Yeah, I'm really looking forward to raising a new generation, it'll be interesting to divide up the siblings with different conditions and see. It also makes me wonder if orchid mantises are affected by the same factors.

Another interesting thing is that it's been particularly dry in my home recently, and I haven't been misting as much as I should have to compensate, and two gained brown/tan edgings in their coloration.