sexing my mantis

[iceman1609]

hi there, just a quick question with regards to my griffin mantis,it has just reached L4 stage now and still cannot tell from its abdomen what sex it is. when is it possible to tell the sex ov my mantis and would you say that way is the easiest way with my species.

 

[hibiscusmile]

hi there, just a quick question with regards to my griffin mantis,it has just reached L4 stage now and still cannot tell from its abdomen what sex it is. when is it possible to tell the sex ov my mantis and would you say that way is the easiest way with my species.

Only way is to count and u looked at the post for that, I have been doing it a long time and still have a hard time counting them. They won't be still :lol: , but the boys always have more than the girls at 5 or 6 and boys 7 or 8 usually!

 

[Orin]

I look at the terminal ventral abdominal segment (last segment rather than counting), most genera are easy to sex at L4 (not so much with Pseudocreobotra because the segmentation is cryptic). Put the critter close to a bright light, if the last segment is really tiny it's a male. Keep in mind males and female have the same number of segments, the key is visible segments because the second to last segment covers the last segment in the female and this character becomes more pronounced with age -- first instar or two depending on the species have the same number.

 

[Orin]

Photos of gender determination (large nymphs and adults).