Sharing a few photos

[twolfe]

Tammy, I was just wondering a few things abt the wahlbergii

I have 14 nymphs and all 5 that r L5 r male

Do u notice a high male:female ratio?

Also one is stuck at L3, is this normal??

Do females have an extra molt??

Thanx

I haven't noticed an uneven percentage of male vs female with the wahlbergii. If you have more females, it may be because I don't attempt to sex them and pack up the nymphs that are more willing to crawl onto my finger. Perhaps the females are braver. I'm not postive but I do think the females have an extra molt. It shouldn't be an issue though since this species matures quickly.

Of the nymphs that I kept for breeding, I only had one "runt" that fell behind the others. Unfortunately it died. A forum friend of mine has suggested that nymphs that may fall behind may be healing from an injury that we may not notice. Most of my breeding stock have been molting at about the same rate. I see more Blepharopsis mendica that fall behind others but they seem to fight more often. The wahlbergii give each other threat poses but often don't touch each other. I did lose an L5 to cannibalism the other day.

 

[agent A]

Oh, ok

But problem is I have mostly males

Maybe males grow a bit quicker

But the L5 viciously attack bbs

But I must save bbs for creo femmes who call but r hungry for male if they r not fat

Oh well, I'll figure it out

I got more lineolas in the mail today though I think stan sent me someone else's babies by mistake

Wat shocks me is this topic is abt a month old and Tammy hasn't posted new pics since

 

[twolfe]

Wat shocks me is this topic is abt a month old and Tammy hasn't posted new pics since

Alex, I know that you are doing a much better job than I am at documenting your mantids! The only mantids I have photographed in the past month are a couple of Rhombo cf valida and a male Orchid I shipped to another forum member.

On mornings when the light is nice and the water is calm, I spend a few hours in my photo blind behind my house. There is a two month period every spring where I concentrate on photographing the ducks that nest in my boxes. I only have one tripod but use two different heads, depending on whether it's supporting just a camera with a macro lens or a camera with a 500 mm lens. It's a pain to switch back and forth. Some day I'll invest in another tripod.

Here's a link if you are interested in my duck images. Hope it's Ok to post this here since it's off topic: http://twolfephotos....22463026_PGg3dG All of the wood duck images and hooded mergansers were taken in my back yard or in the wetlands behind my house.

On some days I spend a couple of hours taking care of the mantids/packing orders. There is little time left to photograph them. But if any of my Rhombo ooths hatch, I will have new L1s to photograph.

 

[agent A]

To be honest Tammy I haven't actually photographed my mantises since the weekend

And one of my blephs has cool dark lines through its eyes I noticed weeks ago and still didn't photograph

Will have to snap some pics tomorrow when my blaberus fusca arrive B)

And I need to photograph more mantis wars lol

I've just been so busy with toadlets and lineola that I'm going a bit crazy

I wonder what happens when lineola and toadlet meet

 

[hibiscusmile]

OH! it will be scary when they meet!

 

[hibiscusmile]

Tammy, those are beautiful pictures, God has blessed you and some members here with an eye for the pictures, how wonderful many pictures are that are on this forum. The fluffy 3 head baby pictures are just great! thanks for sharing those with us.

 

[agent A]

OH! it will be scary when they meet!

Well I got 16 in the mail last Friday and an unexpected 10 more today and I have no room for them and hungry creos and toads

I just don't wanna feed them to stuff in case they were accidentally sent to me

They r still in their shipping cups cause the only other places r in net cages with L1/L2 Oxyopsis or multispina

 

[CoolMantid]

Well I got 16 in the mail last Friday and an unexpected 10 more today and I have no room for them and hungry creos and toads

I just don't wanna feed them to stuff in case they were accidentally sent to me

They r still in their shipping cups cause the only other places r in net cages with L1/L2 Oxyopsis or multispina

I would keep them and raise them. (Your are talking about creos right)

Dont feed them please. If you want to feed them to something else, send them to me instead

 

[twolfe]

Tammy, those are beautiful pictures, God has blessed you and some members here with an eye for the pictures, how wonderful many pictures are that are on this forum. The fluffy 3 head baby pictures are just great! thanks for sharing those with us.

Thanks, Rebecca! Alex, I'll be photographing some new L1s soon! The first of my Rhombodera ooths is hatching right now....

 

[CoolMantid]

Really! Are you selling? PM me when your ready to ship them if you are.

Wait were you talking to me or the other Alex? I just want some shields. Do they have a hood as L1s?

 

[twolfe]

Hertarem45 (the other Alex), I was talking to AgentA because he mentioned I hadn't posted any photos for a while. I do you recall asking me about a Rhombo ooth or some nymphs. I don't really know what these look like at L1 yet as I haven't examined them closely. I doubt you can see a shield. This is my first time breeding this species. These are the cf. stalli. I also have some cf. valida but they haven't molted to adults yet. I'll send you a pm with the details after I see how these do.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Tammy; these are marvelous as always. What they don''t show is the skill, time and patience required to come up with them!

I have seen mantis individuals that took longer to mature than their siblings (I personally don't call them "runts" because they end up the same size as the others), particularly ghosts. I have seen a "late developer" eclose to adulthood three months after her sibs. As for falling behind because of an injury that we may not notice, I have not seen injuries that we can notice particularly influencing the next molt. Some have suggested that it is due to surfeit of Juvenile Hormone, but no one seems to know why that happens. Perhaps one of our members will discover why!

Meanwhile, those pix still look great! :shifty:

 

[agent A]

I would keep them and raise them. (Your are talking about creos right)

Dont feed them please. If you want to feed them to something else, send them to me instead

i am talking about sphodromantis lineola

they still r in the shippment cups and i need to find cages for them

Thanks, Rebecca!

Alex, I'll be photographing some new L1s soon! The first of my Rhombodera ooths is hatching right now....

yay!!

Really! Are you selling? PM me when your ready to ship them if you are.

Wait were you talking to me or the other Alex? I just want some shields. Do they have a hood as L1s?

oh i might want a few once i have a few more cages...

they dont start getting a hood until like L4 i think

Tammy; these are marvelous as always. What they don''t show is the skill, time and patience required to come up with them!

I have seen mantis individuals that took longer to mature than their siblings (I personally don't call them "runts" because they end up the same size as the others), particularly ghosts. I have seen a "late developer" eclose to adulthood three months after her sibs. As for falling behind because of an injury that we may not notice, I have not seen injuries that we can notice particularly influencing the next molt. Some have suggested that it is due to surfeit of Juvenile Hormone, but no one seems to know why that happens. Perhaps one of our members will discover why!

Meanwhile, those pix still look great! :shifty:

well if they didnt have juevenille hormone they'd have more adult characteristics i'd think :huh:

oh well

wouldn't it be funny if the L3 i have is the ONLY female out of them all and is growing slowly? :tt2: