Terribly disfigured wings from a molt? Amputate wings?

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My 2nd iris oratoria mantid to make it to adult! His wings are awful! He keeps trying to get them to open up. Poor thing. Help! How can I help him?

 

[Aryia]

If you up the humidity right when that happens, he'll have a little more time to straighten out his wings before they harden. Once hardened there's nothing much you can do about it. For males it shouldn't matter if their wings are messed up, most of mine don't even notice it. If you see it bothering him too much or getting in his way of living after a couple days, you can amputate them right below the joint. Make sure you hold your mantis securely by the thorax to prevent them from moving during amputation. Unless you cut into the actual joint, there should be no bleeding. Though I do suggest just leaving him be. Most of the time splayed wings are due to wrong humidity levels or bad ventilation.

I've been able to correct minor mismolted wings by using some water/Q-tips to soften the wings back up and then folding them the way they are supposed to be while the wings are still wet. If it's a minor mismolt the water adhesion should be enough to hold and set them in place. Only do this for minor mismolt wings though, it's very stressful for the mantis since the procedure takes a good 15-30 min and the mantis needs to be force-held during that time. It won't work for any serious splayed wings.

 

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Thank you Aryia. I feel like such a bad mom. When I came home last night, he was squished up against the glass. Not because the cage is bad, but because he is scared to death! I only have 1 other mantid in there now, and he is still scared. He is hanging upright from his front legs and his back legs are in the air.

Will cutting the wings hurt at all? Are there any nerves in the wings? When you say below the joint, do you mean more distal from the body?

He looks like a hump back and I'm afraid he will not eat again, because he keeps hanging the wrong way.

 

[Ranitomeya]

Do not amputate. Insect wings are not composed of just dead exoskeletal material and they actually circulate hemolymph through it.

If you've ever seen dark spots occur on a mantid's wings, you're looking at injuries where the wings have become damaged and hemolymph has oxidized in contact with the air.

 

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Wow. That is good to know. Since there is hemolymph in his wings and they are disfigured, will he get sick? should I try to wet the wings so that they go down at least? He keeps trying to open them. tomorrow I have to start trying to force feed him. He is so miserable. I feel so bad.

 

[Ranitomeya]

No, the wings are only physically misshapen and should cause him no illness unless they are are damaged.

He'll get used to having disfigured wings. Mantids normally go through a few days of periodically adjusting their wings after a molt.

 

[Rick]

The wings can easily be trimmed but you should wait several days after the molt. If you decide to trim them you cannot get to close to the body because those tissues may bleed. There will be no bleeding if you trim away from the area where the wings attach to the body. But you should leave them alone if they don't interfere in feeding.

 

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He died this morning!!! What am I doing wrong!!? I waited 2 days, he seemed fine except for feeding. I put honey on his legs and he ate it and died! Could honey go bad?