The heaviest mantis I've ever held!

[hibiscusmile]

that is too much, junk in the trunk! :tt2:

 

[Precarious]

My Heirodula multispina female Wolfie, weighed in at just over 7 grams on a triple beam scale on 8/7 and I thought it wasn't a big deal.

Holy schizzl'nits! That's a big girl! Did she lay a nice big ooth???

If mine doesn't lay soon I'll worry about her becoming egg-bound.

 

[lancaster1313]

Now, after I posted, I actually read the whole topic. I do not intend to make a contest, I think it would be fun to find out what the mantids weigh, even the little ones. I tried to start a weight topic quite a while ago, but it wasn't a big hit.

 

[lancaster1313]

Holy schizzl'nits! That's a big girl! Did she lay a nice big ooth???

If mine doesn't lay soon I'll worry about her becoming egg-bound.

She was mated on 8/1, and laid on 8/16. Her ooth was smaller than the Chinese oothecae that I bought from Sears a while back. That ooth is my first one from this species so I don't know if it is big, or small.

She actually ate more on the day after being weighed, but my mantids frass so much that I don't know if they keep the weight on for long. I only weighed her cause she felt heavy, and I was curious. I am pretty sure that she could get heavier but I don't want to overfeed my pets.

The kid and I like to weigh other "bugs" sometimes, as well. B)

 

[Precarious]

Now, after I posted, I actually read the whole topic. I do not intend to make a contest, I think it would be fun to find out what the mantids weigh, even the little ones. I tried to start a weight topic quite a while ago, but it wasn't a big hit.

You need a really accurate scale that goes down to 1/100 of a gram for the little guys. I got mine years ago on Ebay for like $30 back when I was stuffing my own supplement capsules. Good to have around.

 

[lancaster1313]

It would be cool to be able to weigh little nymphs, and to see how much weight they lose just after a molt!

 

[Precarious]

It would be cool to be able to weigh little nymphs, and to see how much weight they lose just after a molt!

That would be interesting. Or weigh them before and after death to find the weight of their soul. :shifty:

:angel:

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___. :turned: .___

 

[Amaybe]

Beautiful and interesting. I have a scale like that. Never thought to weigh out mantises on it though. I am gonna star doing that now!

 

[Malti]

Giant Malaysian katydids are pretty heavy. Also Hercules beetles, atlas beetles, goliath beetles, etc.

my gf will kill me, but i want something bugsy huge :lol:

 

[agent A]

wow she's big! they look more sturdy than tenodera, I've seen female tenodera that fat but they couldn't hold their abdomen properly, but yours looks like she's got it covered B)

 

[lancaster1313]

wow she's big! they look more sturdy than tenodera, I've seen female tenodera that fat but they couldn't hold their abdomen properly, but yours looks like she's got it covered B)

My H. multispina can drag some abdomen, but she can lift it when she wants to. :lol:

 

[PhilinYuma]

That would be interesting. Or weigh them before and after death to find the weight of their soul. :shifty:

:angel:

_____I_____

_____I_____

_____I_____

___. :turned: .___

They've already done that in Italy. There's a famous song about it, O sole mi o, which means "Oh! My soul weighs nothing! God*, I just love loose association!

*I only do G_d when I'm feeling Orthodox.

 

[Malti]

They've already done that in Italy. There's a famous song about it, O sole mi o, which means "Oh! My soul weighs nothing! God*, I just love loose association!

*I only do G_d when I'm feeling Orthodox.

never knew Pavarotti talked sang about mantis souls :lol:

 

[patrickfraser]

How fat is too fat? I feel like i'm depriving my mantids after seeing this one. I try to keep them from being that big.

 

[yen_saw]

She's about to drop!

She's one big mama!! Her abdomen probably weight 60% of the total weight Beautiful specimen!

 

[Precarious]

How fat is too fat? I feel like i'm depriving my mantids after seeing this one. I try to keep them from being that big.

You've just got to judge by looking at the abdomen. If it looks overstuffed it's too much. Although this girl is huge she doesn't look out of proportion. This is a large species and she can handle the load. Adult females are built to carry this kind of weight and the only stage that should get anywhere near this big. You've got to remember it's not just food in there but also eggs and the material to build an ooth.

 

[Precarious]

Beautiful specimen!

Thanks Yen! She's one of yours... of course.

 

[ShieldMantid1997]

You've just got to judge by looking at the abdomen. If it looks overstuffed it's too much. Although this girl is huge she doesn't look out of proportion. This is a large species and she can handle the load. Adult females are built to carry this kind of weight and the only stage that should get anywhere near this big. You've got to remember it's not just food in there but also eggs and the material to build an ooth.

+1 on that

Like human females and how when they go through puberty their hips widen and such to carry a baby. The mantids do the same! So the female will be prepared for the weight, therefore she can bare the weight

 

[lancaster1313]

You've just got to judge by looking at the abdomen. If it looks overstuffed it's too much. Although this girl is huge she doesn't look out of proportion. This is a large species and she can handle the load. Adult females are built to carry this kind of weight and the only stage that should get anywhere near this big. You've got to remember it's not just food in there but also eggs and the material to build an ooth.

I think she looks perfectly plump.

I start to worry that they are too fat if I see shiny spaces in between abdominal segments, or if the abdomen starts to look too elongated. :mellow:

 

[patrickfraser]

I have fed my fat lineola another Dubia roach. I didn't thinks she'd go for it, but I guess she is eating for a couple hundred, right? I'll try to get a picture tonight. Being fat really shows off her pink stripes on her abdomen. Do mantids get "stretch marks"?