Welcome home, mantis 1 and mantis 2

[callisto9]

They should be easily sexable right now. If you want to post pics I could let you know what they are.

That would be awesome! What part of them do you need a good shot of? The abdomen?

 

[agent A]

i love pnigos

long-lived and very good-tempered mantids

i had a nice male a few years back

he loved being photographed. i sent him to someone for their female after a while and i can't remember if he managed to mate. good times

 

[Connor]

That would be awesome! What part of them do you need a good shot of? The abdomen?

Yep the underside of the abdomen. Emphasis on the end of the it

 

[callisto9]

Here's pics of Thing 1. 

 

[callisto9]

And here's Thing 2

 

[Connor]

Hm for some reason these are difficult for me. Pretty sure thing 2 is a male. Thing 1 is harder to tell but still looks like a male to me. Hopefully some other peeps can chime in for ya.

 

[callisto9]

Thought for sure they were both females, as per this: 



they both have (or seem to have) six segments. 

"Females and males both exhibit similar appearance, with females having the six abdominal segments, and males eight, females are slightly larger than males, and have shorter antennae, however both sexes are stocky in build"

 

[Connor]

Well if they have 6 then they might be females. I wasn’t able to see and count all the segments from the pics.. I was just looking at the end segments.

 

[callisto9]

I count six except for one pic, this one. I feel like there are eight from this angle.

Also, when I look at pics of them online, they seem to "flatten out" when they get older/get wings? The younger ones have that curled abdomen, but I see many other ones that are flat and with wings. Know anything about that? 

 

[Connor]

Well you can only count the segments from the underside. And you have to be sure to count the ones that are completely underneath the abdomen. 

Once a mantis reaches its final molt they will get wings and for the wings to sit right, their abdomen must as well.

 

[CosbyArt]

I count six except for one pic, this one. I feel like there are eight from this angle.

Also, when I look at pics of them online, they seem to "flatten out" when they get older/get wings? The younger ones have that curled abdomen, but I see many other ones that are flat and with wings. Know anything about that?

Both of your mantises are males according to segment counting, see here, and by their last segments closest to their anus are small (females have a large final segment). That said as the final segments are so tiny and close together currently it is a sign they are still rather young and segment counting may not be reliable.

They are however the same gender, so if you want to breed them you will have to get another gender when the time comes for them.

Counting segments even if the person counting uses the segment where the walking legs attach (it is where the difference in the count comes from) makes no difference in the end, females have 2 less segments than males. That is 5 female segments to 7 male segments,  or 6 female segments to 8 male segments, depending on which segment the person counts on.

As nymphs they move their abdomen around, often arched, to keep them balanced. If you watch them as they walk around the abdomen moves back and forth, and if they jump they will put it nearly flat on their thorax at the last moment for a boost of forward momentum. Once adults their wings make that impossible, so they learn to use the wings for balance - and can flutter them if they become unbalanced or to jump (or simply fly).

 

[Jordycakes]

Got my first one two days ago i cant wait to see it adult

 

[callisto9]

Huh, I thought for sure each of them had six segments. Doesn't matter either way... just curious as I want to give them proper names this time around. I do not want to breed them, so no worries there. Just want to enjoy them for their short lifespan. 

 

[DefyTheNorms]

I count 8 on each - so I second that both are males  They are beautiful BTW!

 

[callisto9]

We'll probably be able to tell better when they get older, right?

It's funny, they have both gotten more skittish again after their last molt. When I take them out to feed/clean, they are a lot more jumpy again.

 

[DefyTheNorms]

We'll probably be able to tell better when they get older, right?

It's funny, they have both gotten more skittish again after their last molt. When I take them out to feed/clean, they are a lot more jumpy again.

Definitely much easier as the get bigger. I have a couple that I thought I had sexed, but now I'm unsure again lol. Mine also go through phases of jumpiness.