Sorry to sound like an alarmist. . .

[Curiosity]

Patricia Mindelle has been acting a little weird. It's not big things really - the biggest thing is that, she has changed her favorite place to hang upside down from the ceiling of her cage to a stick just below, and when she's on that stick, she's only hanging on three legs - sometimes two, and once even one. She's fallen off a couple of times, but I know those legs aren't disabled, because sometimes when she thinks I'm watching (and about to tip her back into a more safe looking position), she'll put the leg back up. She seems to have lost interest in food, also, or else it just hasn't occurred to her that no bug that isn't qualified for a mental institution would fly down towards her stick rather than up towards the ceiling light. 

What I'm wondering about: Is this typical behavior before a molt (she last molted on July 16, and she definitely didn't behave this way then), or should I be this panicked? 

And if it's the former, I may need a good verbal slap in the face about alarmism. I've been in a constant state of panic about something or other ever since I got my first mantis of this year.

 

[MantisGirl13]

What instar is she?

- MantisGirl13 

 

[MrGhostMantis]

I recommend taking out low hanging spots if she is about to molt.

 

[Curiosity]

What instar is she?

- MantisGirl13 

I don't know. She's European and about an inch long. . . I'm hoping you can estimate from that.

I recommend taking out low hanging spots if she is about to molt.

I'm not entirely sure she can actually stay up. . . it's starting to seem more and more like she actually can't hold on. 

 

[Curiosity]

Update. I'm not being an alarmist. She can't climb anymore. The sticky spots on her legs seem not to be functioning.

 

[MantisGirl13]

Update. I'm not being an alarmist. She can't climb anymore. The sticky spots on her legs seem not to be functioning.

That's not good. I can't think of what the problem could be or what to do about it. Can we see pics?

- MantisGirl13 

 

[MrGhostMantis]

Is there metal mesh anywhere in the enclosure she is in?

 

[Curiosity]

No there's no metal mesh. She's not in an enclosure anymore either. She's barely moving at all, I have her lying on a tissue on top of a bookshelf. . .

I don't have any pictures. . . there's no visible injuries anyway. Sorry. . . 

 

[MrGhostMantis]

Probably RDS. Any wild caught feeders?

 

[Curiosity]

Yes. That's all I feed them. . . wild caught moths. 

I pronounced her dead this morning, but I'm still wondering about the cause, so if that confirms it I'd like to know.

 

[MantisGirl13]

Sorry for your loss! Is there any possible chance that one of the moths was in contact with a pesticide or herbicide or other chemical?

- MantisGirl13 

 

[Curiosity]

I wouldn't know. The way I obtain food for my mantises is to turn on a light on the front porch and wait for moths and lacewings - mostly lacewings, since they move around a lot more when introduced to the mantis's cage - to show up. Those bugs could be anywhere during the day for all I know. 

 

[MantisGirl13]

Ok. I suspect that one of the moths had a trace of pesticide or herbicide and the mantis ingested the chemicals. If you use any of those chemicals or live in a fairly densely populated area then I don't suggest catching much of the prey. 

The only place I really feel comfortable catching moths is if I'm camping or in an open field or woods far enough away from any of those chemicals. 

- MantisGirl13 

 

[Curiosity]

I live in a small town in rural Idaho and my parents don't use pesticides on the yard. . . 

It's still possible though. The lacewings could have been picking up chemicals in the neighbors' yards. 

Not sure if this is a lousy thing to say here, but there's something I find a bit morbidly amusing about all this: I know my parents put down ant poison. I also used to feed Mindelle exclusively ants. She'd been off them for two weeks before she started acting oddly, and I've never seen the ants anywhere near the bait anyway, but I find it a little weird that she'd get hit by that now rather than when she was eating the ants. 

Bleak humor? 

 

[Mantis Lady]

Sorry for your loss