Gurders Mantis

Dec 09:

All is not lost thanks to many offers of some very kind fellow keepers, it means more than you will ever know. Andrew you are a diamond and have put the Happy in Christmas for me thank you so very much mate

The last update of the year is a very sad entry, because of a major disaster in the shed I have lost the majority of my mantids.

The 1st of the Sybilla pretiosa ooths that I traded with Stephen (Thanks again mate) has hatch, they look like they are on stilts.

The Acanthops.sp nymphs are all doing well, I have my 1st few sub adults now.

Nov 09:

Well so far this month there has been a fair few moults an escapee and a few deaths. I've got some more Hymenopus coronatus nymphs cheers Andrew, I hope he does well with his part of the exchange I'm sure he will. 

Oct 09:

I have just received a package from Soren in Germany, many thanks. It contains the first South American species that I have kept it is Acanthops.sp

A big thanks to Jules for the Thesprotia graminis ooth and the springtails. I've gotta say it is 1 of the smallest ooths that I have seen.

I received some Tarachodes.sp nymphs from Pim many thanks mate, these are my 2nd twig hugging species and am looking forward to watching them grow

Sept 09:

The Phyllovates chlorophaea ooth Yen sent me has hatched but only a few nymphs I'm rather gutted but will do my best with the nymphs that I have got.

I have been sent some Polyspilota aeruginosa nymphs from Norman thanks a lot mate, it's nice to have this species again.

Most of the Popa spurca crassa  nymphs have now moulted and will need new and bigger houses. All of the Pseudoharpax Virescens Virescens nymphs have moulted a couple of times and are doing well.

Aug 09:

Another big thanks this time to Stefan for the Popa spurca crassa nymphs, I am very happy to finally get this species I've wanted to get them for pure time, well a few years lol.

A big thanks to Yen for the Phyllovates chlorophaea ooth which is a new species for me but can see massive similarities to the Pseudovates arizonae ooth.

Also a big thanks to Chun for the Bleph excahange, fingers crossed it works out better for both of us now.

Not to forget Rob for the D.lobata exchange, hope the boys do the job.

I have the 1st adult female  Pseudogalepsus sp  and she has a soft spot for roaches, I have moved theIdolomorpha into larger cages, the sex split is not good but I can do but try.  

Cheers Mark for the Phasmomantis sumichrasti (Mexican bush mantis) which is another new species to my collection, I look forward to watching them grow up.

July 09:

Thanks to Marius I have been able to re-visit a species that I have kept previously Pseudoharpax Virescens Virescens  they are a nice pretty and also a small species. I look forward to watching these nymphs growing up.

Got a new species from Christian which are Pseudogalepsus sp from Tanzania. It is the first time I have kept a twig hugging species and look forward to watching them develop. 

Got a parcel from Luke this morning containing 2 Hestiasula wuyishana ooths, cheers mate you are a star. Plenty of moults have happened with no serious problems thankfully.

All of my Deroplatys desiccata nymphs have now moulted as have the Deroplatys lobata. The couple of dozen surviving Tenodera sp nymphs are doing well now and have moulted again. The some of the Idolomorpha lateralis   & Empusa fasciata have moulted again and now have moved onto greenies. The unknown boxers from Luke have now moulted but I haven't dug out the magnifying glass yet to look for a 'horn'Empusa fasciata  nymphs have moulted again and are doing well, I think they will be able to move onto greenies aswell.

June 09:

Bad start to the month with a overheating problem in the shed, going to have to sort it out. The Tenodera sp nymphs have had a high mortality rate but the surviving nymphs are doing ok and have started to moult to 2nd instar, I have potted up the nymphs and have only 21!. The 1st of the Idolomorpha lateralis ooths have hatched, I have counted 12 nymphs. My Pseudocreobotra Wahlbergii are all adult now, just 1 male and my lone female to go. I have my 1st adult Pseudovates arizonaea male, I hope the females ain't too far behind a few extra flies should help them catch up. I have now got some more Creobroter gemmatus nymphs now after an exchange with Dan, cheers mate. The Idolomorpha lateralis  nymphs have started to moult to 2nd instar, the size increase after 1 moult is massive they are nearly double the size of the 1st instars. I have got some more Deroplatys desiccata  nymphs cheers Andrew. The Tenodera nymphs from the 1st ooth that survived 1st instar are doing well and some have started moulting to 3rd instar now, the 2nd ooth had an even higher mortality rate than the 1st and only 11 made it to 2nd instar.  My Blepharopsis mendica have moulted again and I have sexed my group to 3 females and 6 males which is a good split so fingers crossed. I have treated myself to another species but not a new 1 for me which is Parasphendale affinis thanks Daniel. This was the starting species for me and look what it led to, I doubt 5 years ago I would have thought I could possibly breed and care for 100+ mantids or that I would be at uni for that matter. The 1st of the Idolomorpha lateralis have moulted to 3rd instar, this species seems to grow very quickly and again the size difference is very noticeable.

May 09:

9th March 08

3rd female moulted to adult

28th Feb 08

2nd female moulted to adult

27^th Feb 08

Final female moulted to sub-adult

2 moulted to sub-adult

9^th April 08

The 2 remaining nymphs have both moulted for the 1^st time.

Polyspilota aeruginosa

19^th March 08

Traded a few ooths for several pairs of Polyspilota aeruginosa 1^st Generation from wild caught in Kenya