Skipping Sheds

[CubbySetsFire]

Okay so I have a common Sphodromantis lineola, now by all means she was sold to me as an L3, she certainly looked like an L3 to me anyhow, she shed once 2 weeks ago (L4) and then again this morning (L5) , but to my surprise she seems to have full sized wings, she’s even fluttered them out a bit to dry. Is this normal? She’s still pretty little for an adult I would think but she’s also been well fed since i got her. Even know they’re common I’ve never actually had an African Giant, I’ve heard of skipping a shed but I was wondering if this is normal.  Never had this happen to me before, I’m curious to hear what everyone has to say lol. Thanks for any and all advice in advanced. 

 

[Ranitomeya]

It's not normal, but it happens on occasion. It's not certain whether it's due to genetics or rearing conditions, but in other insects skipping a molt or having an extra molt before maturing is caused by abnormal hormone levels.

 

[CosbyArt]

I've never had it happen myself with the hundreds of my pet mantids, or thousands of nymphs I've raised. I have heard about it only twice, that I remember, on the forum.

What I've read about it, as in your case, any that do occur the mantid is smaller than normal (about 75% typical size or a bit smaller) - and often tend to have other abnormal traits such as shorter/longer wing lengths/etc. If it was a mammal especially it would be called a runt, and they tend to have shorter lives and have many health issues; although, with a mantid I don't know if that occurs as well, as the condition is rare in captivity and little is available about it (including if they can successfully breed/mate).

I would keep her as normal, with a eye open for any issues, and just enjoy the odd experience/miracle.

 

[CubbySetsFire]

Wow, Thats crazy! I cant believe it! She really seems to be healthy, in fact the most aggressive mantid I’ve ever had so far when it comes to feeding.  and yes, I would say she’s roughly 75% of what I thought her size would be.  I’ll take some pics as soon s I can to show you guys. 

 

[CosbyArt]

I did some digging on the forum for some more details, and it seems the majority are of people asking if it could happen, and several likely mistaken on the instar stages. There are of course a few that seem legit, and some interesting conversations about it from the experienced keepers.

If your interested in the topic of missing/skipped instars here are some forum links to read...



This one has several photos of a male Stagmomantis carolina that skipped a molt, is much smaller (has a side-by-side comparison of another male) and really short wings.

 

[Sticky]

Any pictures?

 

[CubbySetsFire]

I’ll take some video soon, She just molted about this time yesterday so i wanna give her a bit more time before I take her out.  She’s actually still in a cup ( i wasn’t expecting her to explode to the size she was overnight lol) Its just strange. I’ll add some video links in a few hours to see what everyone thinks.

 

[CubbySetsFire]

Okay so, its not the best video but i did it in a rush before work today ( sorry for the bad quality)  I’ll try to posy more so you guys can see.