RIP Monkey Face

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GreenOasis

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 2, 2010
Messages
810
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13
Location
Claremore, Oklahoma
Name: "Monkey Face"

Species: Shield (Rhombodera sp.)

Born in Ohio, she moved to Oklahoma at a young age and lived with a kind woman name Laura G until her teenagehood. Here, she found she was needed/wanted in a new home with the Kurtz family in Claremore, Oklahoma...a family, who, at this time, were relatively new to mantid-keeping... this is where she reached adulthood, quickly met & fell in love with a man who fathered many children by her. Their love was immediate, passionate & passed just as quickly as it had arisen.

Monkey face then laid many ooths, only meeting their father one more time before he left her life for good. In her young adulthood, Monkey Face did advocacy work at local reptile shows, where she worked hard for the recognition of mantids as companions, and to that end, she converted many to the following with just a simple "Hello".

As she got on in age, Monkey Face would spend most of her time either eating or hanging out on a custom-made bamboo ladder, since her legs were starting to give way in her old age. In the end, she refused food, and was taken by the matriarch of the Kurtz clan for one last walk outside in her final hours. She was fed honey & got to spend some time soaking up sunshine & feeling the wind in her antennnae.

Monkey Face is survived by her sister, Curly, several hundred children, and a legacy that will last a lifetime. :angel:

Her Final Hours:

RIPMonkeyFace.jpg


Missumonkeyface.jpg


Who would've ever thought you could get choked up remembering a dead bug? :(

 
Yeah, I realized after I posted that I should've put her birth/death dates on there. I received her as a large nymph somewhere around Sept. '10, but she reached adulthood around Halloween last year, she just died on Saturday, the 21st of May, so she was an adult for around 7 months. Probably spent 4-5 months as a nymph, so around 11-12 months old, total.

 
Aww. So sorry.

Yeah, I realized after I posted that I should've put her birth/death dates on there. I received her as a large nymph somewhere around Sept. '10, but she reached adulthood around Halloween last year, she just died on Saturday, the 21st of May, so she was an adult for around 7 months. Probably spent 4-5 months as a nymph, so around 11-12 months old, total.
 
Did she live in a plastic enclosure?I am asking this because of her eyes(same problem with R. stalii)...

 
Nice obit. Who woulda thought I could get choked up reading about an dead bug.
sweatdrop.gif
Well she had a good keeper and I am glad some of her or curly's babies have found a home with me in California. They are doing very well.

 
do you remember if the little ones i have were from monkeyface?

either way i have some of this family too

 
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What's the deal here with her eyes? Is there something wrong with them being black that comes about because of a plastic enclosure?

Did she live in a plastic enclosure?I am asking this because of her eyes(same problem with R. stalii)...
 
Well some species got natural black eyes,or turn dark purple usually at night(I am not talking of ALL species of course).But Rhomboreda have green eyes...And I have seen this black weared eyes when raised in plastic enclosures.

I am sure all of you Tenodera breeders have already seen this,although it does not seem to disturb or hurt the mantis...

 
Wow, what a beautiful mantis! How big was she?

R.I.P Monkey face.

“You can shed tears that she is gone,

or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back,

or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her,

or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,

or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her only that she is gone,

or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind,

be empty and turn your back.

Or you can do what she'd want:

smile, open your eyes, love and go on

David Harkins ^_^

 
Everyone who got Shield babies in that first offering got Monkey Face's babies. Curly's first ooth went to another member.

Yes, the blackness on her eyes is from rubbing on a plastic container. I found out too late and even though I moved her to a mesh cube when I first found out and the spots were still relatively small, the blackness spread, so...once the damage is done, it's done. It seems to be only a cosmetic flaw though, she never had a problem finding her food!

 
I'm really curious about this eye thing because it seems my green shield now has brown eyes. That, to me, means that she's probably rubbing as you say. Do we know if it's direct rubbing of the eye on the plastic or is it a component found in plastic that is toxic and causing the eye to turn color just through leg/body contact with the plastic?

If I move her to a really large plastic container, will the rubbing stop?

And another question: do brown mantises have the same thing happen with their eyes, only that since they are brown to begin with, we don't see it happening?

Everyone who got Shield babies in that first offering got Monkey Face's babies. Curly's first ooth went to another member.

Yes, the blackness on her eyes is from rubbing on a plastic container. I found out too late and even though I moved her to a mesh cube when I first found out and the spots were still relatively small, the blackness spread, so...once the damage is done, it's done. It seems to be only a cosmetic flaw though, she never had a problem finding her food!
 
I'm really curious about this eye thing because it seems my green shield now has brown eyes. That, to me, means that she's probably rubbing as you say. Do we know if it's direct rubbing of the eye on the plastic or is it a component found in plastic that is toxic and causing the eye to turn color just through leg/body contact with the plastic?

If I move her to a really large plastic container, will the rubbing stop?

And another question: do brown mantises have the same thing happen with their eyes, only that since they are brown to begin with, we don't see it happening?
They won't turn brown first. It starts as a small black spot & just spreads outward from there. Your nymph is probably still too small to show signs. It didn't occur on Monkey Face until shortly before adulthood. It is from rubbing...at first, I never noticed her doing it, but after alerted about the problem here online, I watched her and she WAS rubbing quite a lot. It will also not go away after a molt. :(

You can try putting your Shield in a larger plastic container & put in quite a few plants so that it can "wander" around quite a bit...keep an eye on them, though, as they may find it harder to find/chase their food.

 

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