Which Instar?

[tenoderaterror]

I had just watched this video on Youtube by nowicki418, which shows an L6 chinese mantis molting to an L7.

The thing is that my supposedly L6 chinese mantis doesn't quite have the same wing-buds as the before-molting photo mentioned in the video.. Could it be that my mantis is only an L5, or will the wing buds' size increase before she molts?

Keegan

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[angelofdeathzz]

The wingbuds do swell up just before the molt, so yeah your's could still be a L6, keep in mind even mantis of the same species can look quite different from each other depending on food, temp, geographical location, etc.

 

[guapoalto049]

You most likely have an L5. Wingbuds noticeably swell on a subadult (L7) mantis preparing for adulthood, and only slightly swell on a presub (L6) mantis preparing for subadult. L5 Chinese should have very small buds without a veiny appearance.

 

[tenoderaterror]

My chinese does have the vein-ish appearence on the wing buds.

 

[PhilinYuma]

@Chris and Nick: Accurate, concise, helpful observation. Very nice!