Top 10 rarest mantis species

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Mantidforum

Help Support Mantidforum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
lunarstorm said:
I reluctantly agree with most of your post but I don't want to. The "never good enough" sentiment sadly applies to modern, general society and certainly isn't unique to this hobby. And though some folks obviously behave in the disdainful manner you cited, I like to think it's a minority.
Click to expand...
+1
 
I'd also like to think it's a minority, unfortunately my experience tells me it's more like "good average". Maybe I am too desillusionated with mankind, particularly as I spent enough time in the tropics to know that much of the species we are used to will not be around for our descendants to watch (keeping them in captivity will be prohibited then by the totalitarian world government). So, instead engaging more deeply into the breeding and the ecology of currently kept mantids, most people rush after the fancy ones and give them up when they failed or have enough of them, only to exploit the new fancy ones. The amount of people who does not behave like this is too low to sustain all species in captivity. You spend then 3 or 4 years to crack the requirements of a particular species and then give it away, only to learn half a year later that it has vanished from the stock, because the space was given by everyone else to some fancy new species from the "wanted" list.

Don't take me wrong, it's nothing wrong about getting new species into culture; but people forget sometimes that this is a priviledge, not shared by mantid keepers of the past and, probably, the future. And instead of being thankful that they still have this opportunity, most keepers still want the unavailable ones. I wonder what will happen when those are in stock one day (given that they are not extinct by then): will those guys give up the hobby because there is no new mantid left to get (and make money of)? Or will they then start to appreciate the tiny and "ugly" ones?

 
I for one have always kept the "tiny and ugly ones", I never sell them, because no one wants them, but I do not want them to vanish and I keep them going and look for new bloodlines to keep them, many here know that, I feel they are just as important as the brightess new mantis. But one of the reasons people post these posts are just to have conversation, sure they would like to see what is wanted and what is out there, but most of us including myself have no possible way of getting them, its just a means of posting here.

As you said, it is a priviledge, and without the internet, none of this would be possible, including the conversation with you and many others. It is a new way of working ones way across the world into the areas many of us would never know. Meeting new people and seeing pictures of insects and such only before seen on tv. :)

 
Thanks for the info everyone. Honestly, i just wanted to know.

hibiscusmile said:
I for one have always kept the "tiny and ugly ones", I never sell them, because no one wants them, but I do not want them to vanish and I keep them going and look for new bloodlines to keep them, many here know that, I feel they are just as important as the brightess new mantis. But one of the reasons people post these posts are just to have conversation, sure they would like to see what is wanted and what is out there, but most of us including myself have no possible way of getting them, its just a means of posting here.

As you said, it is a priviledge, and without the internet, none of this would be possible, including the conversation with you and many others. It is a new way of working ones way across the world into the areas many of us would never know. Meeting new people and seeing pictures of insects and such only before seen on tv. :)
Click to expand...
What do you mean by tiny ugly ones? I love all mantids. I just wanted to know. Which mantids were you referring to?

 
hmmmm what kind of tinny ugly mantids do you still keep that you dont sell?

 
Just coping what Christian wrote, and by that probably the ones that come to mind are the "ant, miomantis, tiawan and other "tiny and small " species. Do you ever see them asked for, no of course not, who would want them? Sure everyone would, then why does no one purchase them? answer is easy, they are not favorites of anyone. I love the tiawan, plays dead, such fun, the ant, so unique, the mio, strong and busy, each one has a uniqueness about them, and when they die off, I am unhappy I can't find more, it is not easy as no one offers them, Richard offers the new zealand, which I buy time and time again, last order all died after hatching, so I am doing something wrong, not Richard or the ooths, it is shipping or me as these are wc. The new zealand is a square shapped mantis and I never get tired of looking at it. So now U know!

 
i would so love to buy acromantis but your prices are a little out of my budget :(

 
hibiscusmile said:
Just coping what Christian wrote, and by that probably the ones that come to mind are the "ant, miomantis, tiawan and other "tiny and small " species. Do you ever see them asked for, no of course not, who would want them? Sure everyone would, then why does no one purchase them? answer is easy, they are not favorites of anyone. I love the tiawan, plays dead, such fun, the ant, so unique, the mio, strong and busy, each one has a uniqueness about them, and when they die off, I am unhappy I can't find more, it is not easy as no one offers them, Richard offers the new zealand, which I buy time and time again, last order all died after hatching, so I am doing something wrong, not Richard or the ooths, it is shipping or me as these are wc. The new zealand is a square shapped mantis and I never get tired of looking at it. So now U know!
Click to expand...
I love all of those mantids, but they suddenly went out of stock!!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
hibiscusmile said:
Just coping what Christian wrote, and by that probably the ones that come to mind are the "ant, miomantis, tiawan and other "tiny and small " species. Do you ever see them asked for, no of course not, who would want them? Sure everyone would, then why does no one purchase them? answer is easy, they are not favorites of anyone. I love the tiawan, plays dead, such fun, the ant, so unique, the mio, strong and busy, each one has a uniqueness about them, and when they die off, I am unhappy I can't find more, it is not easy as no one offers them, Richard offers the new zealand, which I buy time and time again, last order all died after hatching, so I am doing something wrong, not Richard or the ooths, it is shipping or me as these are wc. The new zealand is a square shapped mantis and I never get tired of looking at it. So now U know!
Click to expand...
Oh, man. I want a New Zealand!

 
Christian said:
I'd also like to think it's a minority, unfortunately my experience tells me it's more like "good average". Maybe I am too desillusionated with mankind, particularly as I spent enough time in the tropics to know that much of the species we are used to will not be around for our descendants to watch (keeping them in captivity will be prohibited then by the totalitarian world government). So, instead engaging more deeply into the breeding and the ecology of currently kept mantids, most people rush after the fancy ones and give them up when they failed or have enough of them, only to exploit the new fancy ones. The amount of people who does not behave like this is too low to sustain all species in captivity. You spend then 3 or 4 years to crack the requirements of a particular species and then give it away, only to learn half a year later that it has vanished from the stock, because the space was given by everyone else to some fancy new species from the "wanted" list.

Don't take me wrong, it's nothing wrong about getting new species into culture; but people forget sometimes that this is a priviledge, not shared by mantid keepers of the past and, probably, the future. And instead of being thankful that they still have this opportunity, most keepers still want the unavailable ones. I wonder what will happen when those are in stock one day (given that they are not extinct by then): will those guys give up the hobby because there is no new mantid left to get (and make money of)? Or will they then start to appreciate the tiny and "ugly" ones?
Click to expand...
If I'm not mistaken, I'm responsible for the Ant Mantis you got Rebecca, I found then very easy to keep and breed, I would have kept them for myself but there not my cup of tea so I sent them to one of the Best "Rebecca" to keep them safely in culture!

And then there's the Idolo I spread all around the forum as one of only a few that bred them here in the USA in past year's, at a very low price, is that a bad thing Christian?

You've been in the hobby so long that you may have forgotten the joy of getting a rare or semi-rare species and keeping it even if it's just one or two, let alone breeding them and almost "giving them away", I do understand your point but cut us non-pro's some slack, most of these people are in it for fun, not so much a scientific endeavor...

Would you not agree that there's MANY more people in the hobby now than in years past, that will lead to many different types of handler's and keepers going about things in countless different way's some for the good some not so much. To each his own I say.

 
I agree

I think aspiration is a huge driving force for a lot of peeps

Our time on the earth is limited, it's not a bad idea to make the most of it

If that includes raising rare insects then so be it :)

 
I agree with you Christian, especially the totalitarian world government part. I like sticking to my "plain, native" species of chinese, euros, mediterraneans, carolinas, and limbatas. I've never had an "exotic" mantis, and although I want to own budwings and wide arms, I'm satisfied with what I have now. Honestly I prefer studying the insects rather than keeping them as pets (I'm biased obviously, that's what I'm studying). Hopefully there can be some effort to keep the "undesirables" in culture or at least make sure their natural population is still in existence before the hobby discards them for some new species. When I first joined the forum, Idolomantis was just entering the culture (I remember yen's monster thread about them hatching during shipping) and everyone wanted them. Now having an idolomantis isn't a big deal, and they're being pushed back by "rarer" cooler species. It's a shame I know it, hopefully something can be done.

 
MantidLord said:
I agree with you Christian, especially the totalitarian world government part. I like sticking to my "plain, native" species of chinese, euros, mediterraneans, carolinas, and limbatas. I've never had an "exotic" mantis, and although I want to own budwings and wide arms, I'm satisfied with what I have now. Honestly I prefer studying the insects rather than keeping them as pets (I'm biased obviously, that's what I'm studying). Hopefully there can be some effort to keep the "undesirables" in culture or at least make sure their natural population is still in existence before the hobby discards them for some new species. When I first joined the forum, Idolomantis was just entering the culture (I remember yen's monster thread about them hatching during shipping) and everyone wanted them. Now having an idolomantis isn't a big deal, and they're being pushed back by "rarer" cooler species. It's a shame I know it, hopefully something can be done.
Click to expand...
Ok, this is now off topic. I never said i wanted to keep "rarer, cooler species", I just ask what some people thought what sp. were considered rare. It's interesting, and it's my interest, but now people are talking about how we, the hobbyists, don't appreciate what we have. Whenever I have a question, for some reason, it turns into a conflict. So I'm not going to ask anymore.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Lol, your 100% right, topics get twisted all the time maybe to much. One rare species I would like to breed is Mega mantis (Plistospilota guineensis)!

 

Latest posts

Top