New face in the crowd.

[Allthingsterrarium]

Hiya guys! It's sure been a while since I've been on the forum and both of my tarantulas as well as the rest of the animals are doing just fine. I'm absolutely stoked about my new addition as I just branched off from arachnids and went deeper into the arthropod category. I went to a reptile expo today and was hoping to find one of two types of unique lizards I've been looking for and while I didn't find them this time I was able to find a species I've actually been searching for also. I've done some research but I still need to learn a lot more. She's a giant Asian mantis or hierodula membranacea and is currently a little over an inch in size but may eventually reach 5 inches and bulk up considerably. I'm assuming she's a female because males have longer wings that reach past the abdomen while females have wings that just barely reach the abdomen. I'm not seeing what I recognize as wings to begin with so again I'd say female though she's still young so who knows? Whatever the case I am really excited to keep one of these absolutely incredible and fascinating insects. I swear these things are like the velociraptors of the insect family in the way they hunt and how quick they are and even the way they stand. It's fitting since I hear they appeared during the Cretaceous period. Apparently she'll be extremely easy to keep. I'm going to put a twig and some leaves and maybe a tiny rock or two in there for her tomorrow or the next day and she already has some tiny red runner roach nymphs in there for her to eat that the seller put in but since she just molted if they're anything like tarantulas I'm going to wait a few days before feeding her myself. She also has damp paper towel at the bottom which apparently lets them drink but I wonder if I shouldn't try offering some water gel cubes like crickets use. I'll figure it out. The only thing she needs now is a name and that's proving surprisingly difficult to choose.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

Hi! I'm a new member, but I've raised a few mantids over the years. You will love it! I just hatched two egg cases myself. They sell them at our local garden center and I release them on my tortoise food plots to keep the pests down since I can't use pesticides. I sometimes hold back and raise a few:

Yours is bigger, so you'll have a better chance of getting it to survive. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Dave Jay]

Nice, I like mantids, I've only kept the local species though, but they get to nearly 4". Fascinating creatures.
I found that they'll drink droplets from the leaves if you spray a few now and then.

Note - this is in the Vertebrate Talk section, maybe admin can move it.

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Hi! I'm a new member, but I've raised a few mantids over the years. You will love it! I just hatched two egg cases myself. They sell them at our local garden center and I release them on my tortoise food plots to keep the pests down since I can't use pesticides. I sometimes hold back and raise a few:
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Yours is bigger, so you'll have a better chance of getting it to survive. Good luck and enjoy!

Thanks! I actually chose her because she recently molted since I felt that was a good sign for her growth rate. I love the ones you hatched! Really great for the garden! I bet they keep the mosquitoes down too!

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Nice, I like mantids, I've only kept the local species though, but they get to nearly 4". Fascinating creatures.
I found that they'll drink droplets from the leaves if you spray a few now and then.

Note - this is in the Vertebrate Talk section, maybe admin can move it.

That's a fantastic idea! I'm going to try that. Thanks!

 

[Enn49]

@Dave Jay and @Allthingsterrarium Just realised that it was in the wrong section so I've moved it.

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

@Dave Jay and @Allthingsterrarium Just realised that it was in the wrong section so I've moved it.

Excellent! Thanks!

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Hiya guys! I ended up naming the mantis Shandong Lee or just Lee for short because for one thing a Chinese name is fitting for a giant Asian mantis and also because there have been a lot of Lees in the martial arts world and the hunting movements of a mantis remind me of that. In fact Shandong is a province in China that gave it's name to a style of martial art that was developed there that was inspired by the mantis. He also turned out to be male. Unfortunately he passed away a couple weeks ago. That's the one unfortunate thing about mantids is that they don't live very long and he was already good sized when I got him. I was fortunate to be able to watch him grow huge during the three months or so I had him and he was a fascinating and fun guy to have. I want to get another giant Asian mantis when I get the chance and hopefully a female this time as they grow bigger and live slightly longer. I did go ahead and order another species called a griffin mantis or polyspilota griffini which I recently was drawn to. I'll keep you guys updated. In any case here's some pictures of Lee as he grew! Better late than never!