New Mantis! Pics! :D + MORE pics added 11/6/11, 2nd pg. !

[imderanged]

I have a new mantis! My neighbor found her in his yard & brought her to me smile I like to think it could have been one of the nymphs I released. She is HUGE. I'm hoping she will lay an ootheca for me so I will have something to hatch next year. I haven't decided if I am going to keep her or release her after she lays...BUT she does see to be getting used to me handling her and I can already hand feed her from the forceps...

Anyway, here's a few pics I took, she's all green & GORGEOUS! heart




 

[Littl3_Liar_For3ver Jr]

imderanged

I have a new mantis! My neighbor found her in his yard & brought her to me smile I like to think it could have been one of the nymphs I released. She is HUGE. I'm hoping she will lay an ootheca for me so I will have something to hatch next year. I haven't decided if I am going to keep her or release her after she lays...BUT she does see to be getting used to me handling her and I can already hand feed her from the forceps...

Anyway, here's a few pics I took, she's all green & GORGEOUS! heart

so cute smile  

[Kipluck]

Oh. My. Gosh.

She is RESPLENDENT!!!! eek And those are amazing shots. Like AMAZING.

I want to post pics of the little guy I found on Saturday... but now I feel embarrassed!  

[imderanged]

Thanks! She's already starting to get easier to handle smile & I'd love to see the pics of yours too! heart  

[Parfait Parrot]

That is the most beautiful bug I have ever seen. eek  

[imderanged]

yay! She's laid an ootheca!  

[pompoennetje]

Holy cow what a great shots.
Beautiful!  

[Deadcant_Closed]

What a lucky find and incredible pictures. I haven't seen many of them about in ages. A few years back I spotted a reddish baby one skittering around outside and had fled long before a camera could be salvaged...

What sort of set up do have you made for her?  

[imderanged]

Miss Scherzo

What a lucky find and incredible pictures. I haven't seen many of them about in ages. A few years back I spotted a reddish baby one skittering around outside and had fled long before a camera could be salvaged...

What sort of set up do have you made for her?

I have a planted 12x12x18 Exoterra terrarium. I'll post a picture of it later smile  

[Krissim Klaw]

She looks beautiful and pretty pissed off. You didn't insult her did you? xd  

[imderanged]

Pissed off, yeah, lol. She tried to EAT my finger the other day. I am not exaggerating, when I picked her up she just started gnawing on my fingertip! Then she grabbed on with her claws, and I couldn't get her off of me! I did not want to pull her off and hurt her, so I tried blowing on her and that did NOTHING... I grabbed the spray bottle and spritzed her...she stopped for a second and then went back to eating the skin on my pinky. At this point she was actually eating into my finger and I was bleeding when she had me with her claws... I still didn't want to hurt her by grabbing her (and I was pretty sure she would just hold on even tighter or bite my other hand anyway) but i was starting to get concerned....I grabbed the feeding forceps and put them in front of her head and she started attacking those. I got her to stop eating me but she still had a death grip on my finger with her claws...eventually she did let go though. I'm being a bit more careful around her these days! She sure has some "spunk" LOL  

[Krissim Klaw]

imderanged

Pissed off, yeah, lol. She tried to EAT my finger the other day. I am not exaggerating, when I picked her up she just started gnawing on my fingertip! Then she grabbed on with her claws, and I couldn't get her off of me! I did not want to pull her off and hurt her, so I tried blowing on her and that did NOTHING... I grabbed the spray bottle and spritzed her...she stopped for a second and then went back to eating the skin on my pinky. At this point she was actually eating into my finger and I was bleeding when she had me with her claws... I still didn't want to hurt her by grabbing her (and I was pretty sure she would just hold on even tighter or bite my other hand anyway) but i was starting to get concerned....I grabbed the feeding forceps and put them in front of her head and she started attacking those. I got her to stop eating me but she still had a death grip on my finger with her claws...eventually she did let go though. I'm being a bit more careful around her these days! She sure has some "spunk" LOL

Sounds like she is a queen. I had a female Chinese mantis nicknamed, The Queen for similar, you do what I want when I want it sort of behavior.

Sometimes with that species, espeically the females, they will key into the moisture on our hands. They are so ravinious when they sense the moisture they will pause to bend down and check it out. Some will nibble a bit, it will tickle, and they will stop, while others like her will figure out they can eat what is below and go to town.

I have a few suggestions to make handling her less likely to cause problems for either of you. First off, make sure she has had a drink if she wants one. Next, it will help if you feed her before taking her out so her buggy brain isn't so fixated on eating.

If you see her antennas start to twitch and it looks like she is going to bend to check out your fingers again, simply place some forceps,chopsticks, pencil, or so on in front of her mouth so she will chew that instead of your flesh. After a few nibbles she will realize it isn't tasty and move on. If you do this every time the behavior shows, she will eventually stop checking out your fingers and view them as not a viable food source.

Finally, next time you are in a craft store, pick up something like one of these feather boas. http://factorydirectcraft.com/pimages/20090130154228-776405/navy_marabou_feather_boa_1.jpg

If she ever latches on to your finger or hand again just tickle her with the feathers. It is very over stimulating and it is the only thing I have found can get an adult female to quickly drop a meal. On the up side this also prevents the need for any force or risk of injury. I always keep one around when I am breeding. Protection for my boys. xd  

[Kipluck]

This thread is as good a place as any...

MY MANTIS LAYED AN OOTHECA!!! The dusky little Johnny Cash I caught in my yard a few weeks ago layed a little egg sack on her cage wall. I am not sure if Johnny ever mated, so it could be a dud, but just in case I DEFINITELY plan on keeping it over the winter and hoping for a happier ending than my last clutch.  

[imderanged]

Kipluck

This thread is as good a place as any...

MY MANTIS LAYED AN OOTHECA!!! The dusky little Johnny Cash I caught in my yard a few weeks ago layed a little egg sack on her cage wall. I am not sure if Johnny ever mated, so it could be a dud, but just in case I DEFINITELY plan on keeping it over the winter and hoping for a happier ending than my last clutch.

That's GREAT! My Mantis just laid her 2nd Ootheca for me! I'm so excited biggrin Pics coming soon <3  

[imderanged]

I just noticed my mantis' claw is broken! It doesn't look too bad, it's just the pointy tip that is snapped off. The 'foot' part is still intact and she is still using her claw. In fact she is eating right now and even grabbed the worm with that claw. I am not sure but I think I must have accidentally broken it earlier today when I was feeding her! She grabbed the metal forceps but I didn't realize it right away and I let them open up with her claw wrapped around them. I don't imagine there is much I can do about it, I just hope it doesn't get infected or anything.