simple question

[mas0ud]

I have seen some sites for mantids and I'm wondering what's the meaning of L3, L4 and etc?

 

[lunarstorm]

Quoting Orin's guide, "Praying Mantids: Keeping Aliens":

"instar, nymphal stages after hatching and between molts (i.e. a third instar nymph would have molted twice.) Common abbreviation for instars is L1, L2, etc. The L comes from Larven-stadium the German word for instar."

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I highly recommend getting a copy if you're new to the hobby. And this is coming from someone who is *very* new; I really appreciate the wealth of hands-on mantis information packed into the little book.

 

[mas0ud]

thanks for the answer

how can I ensure the seller is true? is it possible at all? is it related to the mantis size or not?

 

[Ntsees]

thanks for the answer

how can I ensure the seller is true? is it possible at all? is it related to the mantis size or not?

Unless the seller has been keeping track of the number of molts, I don't think it's possible. There are sometimes variations in size from mantids of the same instar stage depending on who gets fed and what not. Mantids usually reach adult by the 6th or 7th molt and so for me, I would think 3rd or 4th instar would be about halfway through in terms of size.