My o/h just surprised me with 5 gorgeous orchid mantis nymphs. They are so tiny and PINK!

Anyone know where I can find a care sheet for them?

Thanks.

Here's a gratuitous pic of an adult!!!

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http://www.exotic-pets.co.uk/orchid-mantis.html


thats cute!!

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1 rottweiler,1 pug,1 japanese chin,1 bsh cat,2 exotic cats,2 western hognose snakes,1 african grey parrot!!

I keep these, they like high humidity and I keep them at about 25c, they are doing fine, growing well, shedding and eat like troopers, as with all mantis, they appreciate good ventilation, they are relatively small species, I was told that they prefer to eat flying insects, but I have never had a problem getting mine to eat crickets.

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Thanks.

They are very small at the moment. Will fruit flies be ok for them? Can you recommend any other foods?

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I have kept may species, and the OM is relatively hard to come by, albeit I did have one, and it only lived a short time.

Crickets are too high in protein, I am told, and would not be their normal diet, thus flying insects, of the right size, are the way to go.

There has also been some success, I trust, in putting a small amount of honey on a cotton bud, and feeding them that.

Good luck

Steve

Feeding the odd cricket is fine but they should really be fed flying insects.

Also, don't be fooled by their size. They are capable of taking relatively large prey, they do hide in Orchid plants which are visited by bees, to give you an idea. However, I wouldn't sugest feeding bees or wasps as they can also kill your mantis.

Maggots is another good food source and if any pupate they get to have the resulting fly a couple of weeks later!

The picture is a sub-adult. You can see the wing buds along the back.

Personally I think they lose some their beauty as adults, once they've developed their wings.

Interesting watching them mate though, the males are a fraction of the size of the female and he drums her back to see if she's receptive, which is quite unique.

Not really, it is a technique I often use, as well.

Of course, you can always ensure you have a ready supply of flies by doing the maggot/fridge/warm them up thing, if you wanted to go down that route, as well....

I have always fed mine crickets with no problems on a mantis forum I was told that some would only take flying insects thats the reason you should feed them that, mine eats crickets every other day sheds fine and my other one lived to a decent age.

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