your pick?

[yen_saw]

HOwdy! was chatting with few friends yesterday about which is the most over-rated and under-rated car, and was thinking what about mantis. I like any mantis species but would like to hear from anyone here what you think is the most over-rated and under-rated species. Right now i think BUdwing (P. Agrionina) is under-rated and GHost mantis (P. Paradoxa) is nice but over-rated.

 

[Sheldon Johnson]

Under Rated: Gongy - you havnt kept them until you've colonised them!

Over Rated: Basalis - awsome , dont get me wrong, but so sought after and theyre not that different from a grandis really. (ok the hunting part is cool and the green colour is nicer, but they have a very similar build)

 

[Mike]

please state the common name too =|

 

[Sheldon Johnson]

gongy = violin

basalis = shield

 

[nympho]

the orchid mantis is so overrated ! I mean pink; its such a girly colour.

(nah love 'em really!) i'll get round to buying some one day. they will probably turn out to be all males though :roll:

 

[Sheldon Johnson]

Orhcids are totally under rated IMO.

When i first saw them i thought "wow they look cool" but always had this mental image of them being similar size to whalbergii.

That initial perception has been totally shattered by each new generation ive had, being bigger and more violent than those that came before them. Ive only ever experience 1 species with a more violent approach to food and that was a polyspilota, which ate a cricket 3 times its size at L2 - amazing!

 

[Ian]

Actually, I have to agree with nympho, and sheldon to some extent. The Hymenopus has had this definite fixation of being a very hard species to keep, and have been advised against keeping by many people. However, I found them SO easy to keep. I find them no different at all to keep, as something like a Phylocrania, or a Sybilla, which, IMO, are easy species to keep.

Appearance wise, I do think they are over rated. There really is nothing to them, they are white, and slightly pink. They are a wonderufl flower mimic, and the idea of that could be enforced slightly more...However, I personally think species such as the Pseudocreobotra, and even the Parasphendale, as adult, look somewhat more outstanding than the hymenopus.

One species I do feel is under-rated, is the Miomantis. I think these are truely fantastic species! They have such a great character, and have an appetite like a horse. They are not scared to tackle prey larger than themselves either! As adult, they are very tame, and the colour variations between specimens are truely amazing. I just generally think the Miomantis is a really cute species, that more people should be keeping

Cheers,

Ian

 

[Jay]

Hey Ian,

I would have to agree with you about the Miomantises. I am sure enjoying mine. I thought that I would have more losses after L1 but I have probably lost only 4 since L2. They love to eat and as long as they have plenty of food they are good at being communial. Their growth rate is pretty easy to manipulate too.

I'm just waiting for a subadult male to turn adult so I can mate him.

 

[Ian]

Awsome, glad they are doing well!

 

[specy]

I think either the pseudocreobotra (spiny flower) is over-rated or the creobroter(indian/thai flower) is under-rated. While both look similar, the creobroter is a lot more fun to watch than pseudocreobotra, but the pseudocreobotra is a lot more popular because they got those spikes.

I also feel that p. spurca (twig) is under-rated: It is very easy to keep, nice behavior, reasonably sized and good looking. It should at least be as popular as the parasphedale. (budwing)

 

[Jesse]

"Overrated": Any mantid that costs $10+ USD for L1-L3.

Underrated: Can't decide between S. lineola or P. agrionina.

 

[Obie]

Overrated: B. mendica. Don't know what it is about them...but they don't impress me.

Underrated: O. peruviana and S. limbata. Not the biggest. But when it comes to behavior, those are at the top of my list. Plus S. limbata is by far the most bullet-proof mantis I've seen. Very adaptable and tough, plus I usually get about 10 different shades of color from 1 ooth.

Here's an S. limbata that just shed, they're not the best pics, but you can see some of the pink and orange in the wings:

 

[Rib]

I think that more people should own some of these babies

 

[ibanez_freak]

Over rated- gongylus!!!! What a bother to keep. they are so hard to feed and after keepeing a few found that they werent very exciting.

Under rated- The regular coloured style mantis (miomantis, hierodula etc) I find that these are just so great to keep because although they look simple compared to some crazy flower/leaf mantis but they have the coolest temprements and personalities.

But I have to say that any of the flower (orchid mantis, pseudo or creo) are awesome mantis too.

I dunno, but I guess I don't find the leaf mantis like deroplatys very exciting at all. Just aggressive stick insects :S.

Cheers for my rant , Cameron.

 

[leviatan]

I think these are truely fantastic species! They have such a great character, and have an appetite like a horse. They are not scared to tackle prey larger than themselves either!

When i read this, i think about Ceratomantis. See this:



This picture isn't my. I get it from www.modliszki.info

In Poland the under rated species are Sphodromantis gastricia & viridis.

Over rated: Gongy, Pseudo i Creo.

 

[Peloquin]

Under-rated-- Popa spurca crassa (Twig mantis). I love 'em. They look cool and run after food like it's going out of fashion. You would expect anything with such good camoflauge to just sit and wait for food but they'll run after it.

Over-rated--coronatus (Orchid). Just cant get into them. They are good hunters and their look really doesn't relate to their attitude. They look puffy but are pretty hard. I just think the tend to be over priced and dont doo enough to warrent their "Ooh, must have one" status.

 

[KennethJ78]

Underrated: Hierodula membranacea. Allmost everybody has them; easy to keep, large, beautiful normal type mantis.

Over rated: Definately Phyllocrania paradoxa. One of the most beautifully shaped / camouflaged species.... yet the most dull species I've ever had.

The just sit in their enclosures.. not moving.. not doing anything.. If only it were a bit more active.. On the other hand.. activity would completely blow it's cover.. :roll:

 

[Sheldon Johnson]

Bah, you can call gongy over rated all you want, AFTER you have put them in a colony of 20. Thats the fun of it all.

Also feeding is a bother? Thats crazy, theyre the easiest mantids to feed. Just need to get in a cycle of buying 25p (50cents) worth of maggots every week.

 

[ibanez_freak]

I had troubles from the flies not hatching at right times etc. How can you control that at all? If you can tell me then they're off my over-rated list . Also I would get a colony but just don't have the money.

Cheers, Cameron.