windupviera
Member
Hi! I thought I’d share my method of sexing orchid nymphs just in case it helps someone out.
As a general rule, I will rely on the counting of abdominal segments to help determine the sex of my nymphs. I can sometimes find it difficult to sex them on the segment count depending on what angle my little one is standing, and before the brown/olive banding comes in properly at I4-I5.
So I can often find sexing them based on vents to be more accurate for me personally.
With a good macro lens you can do the below method from around instar 2. But if you’re like me and have to rely on your phone’s camera to help, you will find this much easier to manage from I3 and more reliable at I4.
But note how the female has a small notch in the terminating segment below the tip of her abdomen, and a stretched out ‘m’ shape above the segment.
For the males, this terminating segment lacks the little v shaped groove and the tip of his abdomen has a clean column in the centre.
The two thumbnails below are not my images, but they’re very clear in showing the difference between male and female vents. These images come from a Reddit post that I think is about 2 years old, but they’ve served me well many a time.
As a general rule, I will rely on the counting of abdominal segments to help determine the sex of my nymphs. I can sometimes find it difficult to sex them on the segment count depending on what angle my little one is standing, and before the brown/olive banding comes in properly at I4-I5.
So I can often find sexing them based on vents to be more accurate for me personally.
With a good macro lens you can do the below method from around instar 2. But if you’re like me and have to rely on your phone’s camera to help, you will find this much easier to manage from I3 and more reliable at I4.
But note how the female has a small notch in the terminating segment below the tip of her abdomen, and a stretched out ‘m’ shape above the segment.
For the males, this terminating segment lacks the little v shaped groove and the tip of his abdomen has a clean column in the centre.
The two thumbnails below are not my images, but they’re very clear in showing the difference between male and female vents. These images come from a Reddit post that I think is about 2 years old, but they’ve served me well many a time.
