Asa
Well-known member
What I do. The oven hasn't caused me any problems yet.
Shipping dead stuff
- Thread starter OGIGA
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I had a friend completely toasted the specimen leaving the it in the oven for too long.
Asa
Well-known member
The trick...not too leave it in more than a couple seconds.
OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
Well, you know...
1. Put it in the oven.
2. Get all excited.
3. Got to the bathroom.
4. Forget all about it.
5. Start doing other stuff.
6. Oops.
1. Put it in the oven.
2. Get all excited.
3. Got to the bathroom.
4. Forget all about it.
5. Start doing other stuff.
6. Oops.
Asa
Well-known member
A couple secs is not enough to go the bathroom.
Couple of sec is also not enough to dry a wet specimen. :wink:
Asa
Well-known member
Is for me. If they are really wet I put them in the microwave.
OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
If that's not enough, I stir fry them. :lol: jk
athicks
Well-known member
Uuh, that would be gross!
hahaha
Horatio
Well-known member
I am very sorry when you lose a mantis as you are definately an excellent caregiver for them :wink: . I find it great that you do the specimen thing (my youngest collects all of our specimens including molts) - I actually did a lot of birds and a few mammals in my younger years and still have an old coot (really! and it is not me or my husband!) in the basement that I bring to schools for teaching. ANYHOW, I was just going to let you know at university and home we always used cheese cloth for wrapping. Maybe that would help with the shipping. It is very inexpensive and then you can use insect pins to pin the cheese cloth to styrofoam and then cover it with the cup and send it. You can wrap a few layers around for security and stability. My coot has about 10 wraps to keep it from getting dust & moisture etc. It was collected in about 1990 and is in mint condition. Is it possible, I wonder, to relax them afterwards in posed positions? Now that would sure be neat for teaching! Good luck! H.
as you are definately an excellent caregiver for them :wink: . I find it great that you do the specimen thing (my youngest collects all of our specimens including molts) - I actually did a lot of birds and a few mammals in my younger years and still have an old coot (really! and it is not me or my husband!) in the basement that I bring to schools for teaching. ANYHOW, I was just going to let you know at university and home we always used cheese cloth for wrapping. Maybe that would help with the shipping. It is very inexpensive and then you can use insect pins to pin the cheese cloth to styrofoam and then cover it with the cup and send it. You can wrap a few layers around for security and stability. My coot has about 10 wraps to keep it from getting dust & moisture etc. It was collected in about 1990 and is in mint condition. Is it possible, I wonder, to relax them afterwards in posed positions? Now that would sure be neat for teaching! Good luck! H.Asa
Well-known member
Hey :shock: :!: That's a great idea! You could put a mantis in the 'killer death' pose!
OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
Oh cheesecloth! Thanks for the suggestions. I was wondering if you had any ways to keep specimen from rotting. Both of my dead female adults started smelling like they were fermenting.I am very sorry when you lose a mantis
Freeze the adults as soon as you find them dead. You should also gut the females. For best results, gutting should be done prior to freezing. Removing the contents of the abdomen helps to stop rotting. It removes excess water that would be stuck inside!
Asa
Well-known member
Oh gross...I could never do that. OGIGA might be able to though
.
OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
What?? :lol:Oh gross...I could never do that. OGIGA might be able to though
How do you remove the contents? Wouldn't the abdomen deflate?
Slice the abdomen open on one side or on the underside where the thorax and abdomen join. Remove the contents. You can leave the abdomen as is and it will look deflated. Or you can stuff the cleaned out abdomen with cotton balls. Both options will keep the specimen from rotting. You can do the same thing with the males, but it isn't usually needed.
I remove the contents with a small steel styrene scriber. But any small, thin and flattened tool should work. You just want to scrape everything out. Ever cleaned out a pumpkin? This is the same thing, just on a smaller scale!
I remove the contents with a small steel styrene scriber. But any small, thin and flattened tool should work. You just want to scrape everything out. Ever cleaned out a pumpkin? This is the same thing, just on a smaller scale!
OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
Oh I see. That's a little scary. I think I will leave that up to whoever wants to keep the dead specimen.
Asa
Well-known member
C'mon, you're braveOh I see. That's a little scary. I think I will leave that up to whoever wants to keep the dead specimen.
.
OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
I don't know about that. I'm scared of saliva, germs, and things that are going bad. I'm not afraid of things like chicken guts because I know I'm going to eat it.
Just remember, mantid guts are high in protein!!
