SOme pics taken recently

[yen_saw]

Took some pic couple of days ago.

Idolomantis - this one from Germany, she is subadult now. Try to get a threat pose but she wasn't in the mood

SUbadult female Zoolea

Spiny flower mantis female, she should pop an ooth soon.

SUbadult female S. Prestiosa

 

[Malnra]

Nice, thanks for sharing

 

[robo mantis]

I didn't know you had Zoolea

 

[Fisherman_Brazil]

Zoolea appears having longer "horn" than his Texas cousin! nice looking that way!

 

[Mantida]

The Zoolea really look like Texas Unicorns. Are they more aggressive?

Har har, my female P. Ocellata looks about as fat as the one in your picture. Both look like they are going to pop.

 

[Andrew]

W00t, new pics. Really like the pretiosa and zoolea.

 

[yen_saw]

Thanks all!!

Yea Robo this batch of zoolea have been with me for months, hatched them back a while ago and been growing slowly until recently. They have definately outgrow my Arizona unicorn which remain at 5th instar.

Here are few more pics taken recently, nothing too special but great species to me

My orchid subadult female taking down a moth

Texas unicorn with her freshly layed ooth

Acromantis formosana just hatched!

 

[andy hood]

stunning mantids and great photo's yen

 

[joossa]

Wow your Idolomantis sure is a monster!

Make sure to post pictures when it and the Zoolea become adults. Great job!!!

 

[spawn]

Yen, aren't the antennae on the S. pretiosa too long? What do a male's antennae look like? I ask because I have a single specimen (L5 I believe) and I want to sex it.

 

[hibiscusmile]

nice arms on the s. Prestiosa

and the crowns look so kingly on them!

 

[Rick]

Great pics Yen. Thanks for sharing.

 

[yen_saw]

Thanks all... glad you guys like the pics

Zoolea appears having longer "horn" than his Texas cousin! nice looking that way!

Yes Luke, this species has longer "horn" and sharper ends compared to either Arizona and Texas unicorn. But this species is also larger. It is not Zoolea giga or lobipes according to Christian but they are definately huge.

The Zoolea really look like Texas Unicorns. Are they more aggressive?

Actually, they look more like Arizona unicorn than Texas unicorn, and they are not agressive at all. I have group of subadult together and haven't seen any problem.

Wow your Idolomantis sure is a monster!Make sure to post pictures when it and the Zoolea become adults. Great job!!!

Thanks! will post adult pic of Zoolea i promise. finger cross i will have some moulting out alright.

Yen, aren't the antennae on the S. pretiosa too long? What do a male's antennae look like? I ask because I have a single specimen (L5 I believe) and I want to sex it.

Both female and male have about the same antenna length right now at subadult stage. Sexing them is easy now at subadult, female is considerably larger, wider abdomen and has one less "spike" on her abdomen compared to the male (5 vs 6). Following are few pics on my photo album i can share with

SUbadult female on the right and subadult male on the left (notice 6 spikes on his abdomen)

Subadult male

 

[Morpheus uk]

Smart never seen one with a greenish tint like that b4

 

[yen_saw]

The subadult male molted into adult, again now i need to wait for the female to mature. I lost count on the moult number bummer!! but male is definately one molt less than the female for adult.

 

[robo mantis]

Thats a cool looking adult

 

[Mantida]

I love the first pic. The little horn on his head looks all wacky.

Are S. pretiosa hard to raise from nymph to adult? Did they require anythin special?

 

[spawn]

The cool thing about S. pretiosa is, up until about L7, you feed them a couple FF's, and they're full for a week. Seem to be hardy in the long run for such a fragile build. Do you prepare any special enclosure for the adults, Yen? I'm currently keeping mine in a FF container, but I wonder if perhaps a bunch of thin sticks or leaves should be made for the adulthood?

 

[yen_saw]

I love the first pic. The little horn on his head looks all wacky.Are S. pretiosa hard to raise from nymph to adult? Did they require anythin special?

They are not difficult to rear. I keep them cooler and mist sparingly when they are small. AFter third instar i keep them warmer and they are doing alright. Feed them mainly flying insects.

Do you prepare any special enclosure for the adults, Yen? I'm currently keeping mine in a FF container, but I wonder if perhaps a bunch of thin sticks or leaves should be made for the adulthood?

I am keeping each individually in 32 oz plastic container with a stick in it and a towel paper secured by lid. Nothing special really but i will add more sticks and leaves for the adult female definately.