surprise!

[gripen]

i woke up this morning to find that both my chinese mantises had molted. i thought they were sub adults but they were really presubs so now there sub adults. i thought they were subs before because of there size of 3 inches but now that they are really subs they are close to 4 inches. i did not think this years crop would be that big because they hatched so late, but they are!

 

[Psychobunny]

Cool!

What kind of containter do you keep them in?

I am just getting ideas for when my guys get big!!

 

[gripen]

i keep them in 12x12x12 net cubes. that is probably a little overkill but they love to roam and i have the space.

 

[minard734]

The later the hatch, the bigger. The longer time they have to develop, the more they grow. If you feed them well, that is. How cold is the climate you keep them in? I'm assuming it's colder then the wild... Because it is VERY late and that is VERY large for a sub-adult. CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[gripen]

yeah they hatched extremely late in the season. they are kept in the 80 degree range. i collected them at L4 and pumped them up with flies, bees, and crickets. i have a pretty large colony outside. last year in my garden i had 20 adults 3 female the rest male. it was very interesting to watch them mate and lay ooths in the wild.

 

[minard734]

You have a large garden?

 

[gripen]

oh yeah it is probably 20'x10' some plants have more than one mantis on them.

 

[dragon]

Sounds like they'll be real 'monsters' as adults. :nuke:

 

[gripen]

there already monsters!!!

 

[Rick]

Have you actually measured them? I think you will be surprised at how long they actually are.

 

[gripen]

they are 3.5 inches.