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Pics of an Orchid Mantis that I raised from a nymph

Brie

Sarracenia freak
I had this lady for quite a while, until she ended her natural life cycle, which was a very sad day for me. This thing was super spoiled, as I'd had them in the past with little luck, so I was determined to do things right this time around. I bought bluebottle fly pupae, hatched them, gutloaded(fed) them with honey and bee pollen, and were then given to the mantis(sidenote: Doing this mimics what they would get in the wild, as they feed primarily on bees and flies as they visit flowers for their nectar). Was a bit of a process but hey, it was worth it. She thrived and I had her for over a year.

As a nymph.. mmmm flies..
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Cleaning her weapons after the meal... I always loved watching her do this.
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And photos of her taken the day she molted into her adult form, with wings.
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Omg she's so nice. Great job!!! :)
 
Excellente! I've raised a number of exotic mantid species but never got any Orchids.

I agree 100% with the Blue bottle fly pupae! I spent a lot on postage buying bulk packs of pupae every month but made keeping and feeding them super easy.
 
Stunning photos. :0o: It's so cool how it matched the flower almost perfectly.
 
Beautiful! I will have one someday. Didn't mate her?
 
It's so cool how it matched the flower almost perfectly.

The flower mantids will all change color to adapt to their environment, so you can get almost "whatever" colors you want. I had several "Spiny flower mantids" and they would be white tinted yellow green in tanks with green plants but the one I kept with a deep purple & pink wandering jew plant turned a nice pink/purple color.
 
Beautiful! I had never seen anything like this; thanks for sharing!
 
How fantastically alien-like! Orchid mantids are up there on my faves list... Very impressive Brie! :drool:
 
In a strange way, the nymph was more amazing than the adult- It was like it's made of glass or something! Really amazing animal! Never realised they could be so beautiful. :O
 
  • #10
Great photography!
 
  • #11
Fantastic photography, albeit of a gruesome subject.
 
  • #12
Beautiful, but deadly, like snakes and poison dart frogs and... :blahblah9xm:




:-))
 
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