Rhombodera sp. L2 nymphs FS/FT

[JoeCapricorn]

EDIT: I got the original six from Peter Clausen, and I've sent him a message about it. Just letting you folks know. The pictures of the mother show what you'd be getting when they become adults (and are female, of course!)... Another note, be careful around adult females with your fingers, they will confuse them with food and try to eat! I've never been bitten so many times by any other species of mantis!

A couple weeks ago I had an ooth hatch of these little fellas. At this time, most of them are molting to L2. Being that I start the semester in a week from Monday and have many mantises as it is, I need to find good homes for these baby bugs. They are aggressive and quite healthy. I will only ship L2 nymphs, and I want to take advantage of a window of time where I don't have to worry about them molting in transit, which should last for about two weeks.

I'll accept certain bugs for trade. In particular, Eastern Lubber grasshoppers! I really want these! I had them for the past two years and I miss them so much >.<

If anyone is able to find a bunch of healthy (no missing legs, antennae) female and male Eastern Lubbers, I'll gladly ship a reasonable amount of R. basalis to you via express! Just let me know what a reasonable amount is to you.

Now, other bugs I'll accept in trade are Plistospilota guineensis, aka the Megamantis, or Orchid mantises. Both are species I've been seeking for a while, and will gladly expand my mantis population to accommodate them. Adults or nymphs, it doesn't matter.

There are also other lubber grasshoppers from out west, such as Plains lubber or Horse lubber grasshoppers, that I'll be interested in as well! Healthy adults would be preferred.

Now, for those of you who want to just trade boring old cash for mantises... contact me. I can use paypal, or we can work something out. As I'm not really seeking a profit here, I might do $10 for shipping and $2 per mantis nymph. Shipping will be via express for the sake of the mantises, and I know that it is more expensive than just $10.

As for amounts of mantises.... I am going to try and put each mantis in their own little container. These containers will be suitable for them for probably one or two more molts, then I highly encourage you to transfer them to something considerably taller. If you request a large number, I'll pack them in a single container with excelsior and feed them as much as possible for the trip. So far, I haven't seen that much cannibalism, but that is something that undoubtedly has gone on - some of the mantises in there look rather suspiciously fat!

And now for some pictures of their mother:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/JoeCapricorn/0525011448.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/JoeCapricorn/0525011450.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/JoeCapricorn/0525011450a.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/JoeCapricorn/0525011451.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c47/JoeCapricorn/0525011452.jpg

.... And yeah, that is the same tree I took a picture of my mantis Kit in back in May, 2010.

Contact purposes:

PM me, or send me an e-mail at bzdraconian (at) comcast.net

My name is Joe, and I am from Bernville, Pennsylvania, United States.

 

[Termite48]

Joe: Hello from Carson, CA. I have a male adult R. stahli and it looks a lot like your mantis. I need a female for him. Is there a chance this is not a R. basilis that you have? What is the length. The basilis is quite long.

Rich

 

[JoeCapricorn]

Joe: Hello from Carson, CA. I have a male adult R. stalii and it looks a lot like your mantis. I need a female for him. Is there a chance this is not a R. basilis that you have? What is he length. The basilis is quite long.

Rich

The length of the mother was about 3 inches long, she wasn't the largest of the bunch I got. Largest measures 3 1/2 inches. I actually am not entirely sure what this species is, but it is most likely R. stalii instead of R. basalis. I don't have any adult females that I'd be willing to spare.

I have about 15 nymphs available at the moment that haven't been set aside.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Oh dear, Joe! What you are doing here is so wrong that I will keep this short. If I understand you correctly, you seem to believe that there is an actual R. basilis in culture, although the doubts about this were so strong that the last time that I was able to consult the IGM list they were listing Rhombodera sp. In addition you believe that it may be another species, R. stahli, but you are prepared to sell it to owners of any of these Rhombodera species with a possible view to mating with their own stock

There is no point in arguing this with you so I'll report this thread and request that you be banned from selling any specimen of this unkown species until Peter, Yen or some competent person is able to identify it.It'll be interestingto see what the admins think, won't it?

 

[Peter Clausen]

So, I'm baited into a discussion in a non-discussion area, then.

This is interesting, indeed. Of course, I am no taxonomist but that won't preclude me from having an opinion on the topic. I received them and sold them as Rhombodera sp., so that is all they will ever be unless they are either identified by a taxonomist (or hybridized with something else by a customer of Joe's). I don't see any issue with Joe selling them, provided he is clear about his true knowledge (or lack thereof) of the species. To be clear, the genus is known, but the species is not.

It might be ethical for Phil to refuse sales to customers that indicate they plan to hybridize them, but that's Joe's decision to make. It will then be his customer's ethical decision to make whether they are cross-bred. This is the extent to which the forum will be involved in the management of this topic.

I've read Phil's posts on hybridization in the past and I believe I agree with everything he seems to believe on the subject--that hybridization is an abomination, to use an inflammatory, but accurate word. As with humans, I believe each species of mantis is the culmination of a very long road to the present form. Their progress and place in the natural world should be respected and protected. Their lives, however, as our pets and in our cages are meaningless in this context, so long as they, or their offspring are not released back into nature. One of the reasons I keep mantises is that it helps me to appreciate the natural world around me, but I do not pretend that their captive lives resemble anything but captivity and control.

Lastly, I suspect that the actions of a keeper in a small town in the USA are not likely to lead to any harm to the status of the species in nature.

I am going to edit the title of this post to designate the knowledge of the species accurately. And I will await Phil's and anybody else's genius on a good subject with no real answers, because I hope to always remain young enough to change my mind about things

 

[PhilinYuma]

Well that's a decent price for Rhombodera sp, Joe, so I'll take however many L2 nymphs you have left unless you get a better offer for trade. I'll p.m. you now.

 

[JoeCapricorn]

Thank you to Peter, or whoever, for changing the title of this thread. I wasn't aware that this species was for the most part unidentified except for genus. I had success breeding them with just one mating, they are a strong species and very beautiful.

All nymphs are sold at this moment. Thank you to all of you who responded, it means a lot to me to know that these mantises will be taken care of.