Rip Bigsby the female Ghost mantis

[Mystymantis]

Very sad that my adult female ghost mantis Bigsby has passed on to the big mantis heaven today. She was a great and happy mantis. She lived for nearly 21 months! She was 3 days shy of being 21 months old! I think she was one of my longest living ghosts.
She molted to an adult last Christmas on 22 December 2021! She never got slow or decrepit. RIP Bigsby you will be missed!

 

[agent A]

RIP
by 21 months you mean hatching to death right?

 

[Introvertebrate]

I wonder if captivity allows them to live longer than would otherwise be the case. No predators for one thing.

 

[Mystymantis]

RIP
by 21 months you mean hatching to death right?

Yes from the date she hatched until she died.

And yes captivity does allow mantises to live far longer then they would in the wild in most cases. Since there are no predators and also no weather such as cold or rain. There are also certain diseases and parasites that they might encounter in the wild but do not have to deal with in captivity.

 

[agent A]

Yes from the date she hatched until she died.

And yes captivity does allow mantises to live far longer then they would in the wild in most cases. Since there are no predators for one thing and also no weather such as cold or rain.

I beg to differ on this point
I think a good keeper can make a mantis outlive its natural lifespan, but I suspect with the suboptimal conditions 90% of people in this community, ESPECIALLY regarding nutrition, shorten lifespans

 

[Mystymantis]

I did say in MOST cases there. Yes of course there is the fact of nutrition and such that might shorten lifespan. But in general animals kept in captivity do tend to live longer then animals in the wild.
Regardless my mantis had a nice life. This is not meant to be a post about how people care or don't care for mantises properly.

 

[Introvertebrate]

There's a reason that oothecas have 30-300 eggs. Most of those nymphs probably get picked off pretty early on.

 

[Synapze]

Very sad that my adult female ghost mantis Bigsby has passed on to the big mantis heaven today. She was a great and happy mantis. She lived for nearly 21 months! She was 3 days shy of being 21 months old! I think she was one of my longest living ghosts.
She molted to an adult last Christmas on 22 December 2021! She never got slow or decrepit. RIP Bigsby you will be missed!

21 months! You must have taken good care of her. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Mystymantis]

21 months! You must have taken good care of her. Sorry for your loss.

Thanks!

 

[TheWolven]

It's pretty amazing that she lived that long. I just lost two of my ghosties a few weeks ago to disease. Rip Cardamom and Cinnamon. They managed to be sweet and spicy at the same time. They were two of the ghosties you sent me and the two I kept. Only one's left out of the four (another was rehomed).

R.I.P Bigsby
May she munch on all the flies and fingers she wants in the next life.

 

[agent A]

It's pretty amazing that she lived that long. I just lost two of my ghosties a few weeks ago to disease. Rip Cardamom and Cinnamon. They managed to be sweet and spicy at the same time. They were two of the ghosties you sent me and the two I kept. Only one's left out of the four (another was rehomed).

R.I.P Bigsby
May she munch on all the flies and fingers she wants in the next life.

I've had Gongylus and Popa females live well past their 2nd year, spending 18-20 months AS ADULTS!

 

[Mystymantis]

I've had Gongylus and Popa females live well past their 2nd year, spending 18-20 months AS ADULTS!

Wow that's impressive! They must have been in great care.

 

[Mystymantis]

It's pretty amazing that she lived that long. I just lost two of my ghosties a few weeks ago to disease. Rip Cardamom and Cinnamon. They managed to be sweet and spicy at the same time. They were two of the ghosties you sent me and the two I kept. Only one's left out of the four (another was rehomed).

R.I.P Bigsby
May she munch on all the flies and fingers she wants in the next life.

Aw very sorry to hear you lost Cardamon and Cinnamon. Sounds like they were good mantises.
R.I.P. your two ghosts. May they also have all the flies and tasty prey they want in the next life!