“Mantis-Cindy”, female (named after the friend who found
and collected her along with 6 other nymphs)
Species: Sphodropoda
mjobergi, known as
the ‘Burying mantis’
Captured 26 June
2011, Palm Cove,
QLD, as hatchling with “hundred others”, ~1cm in length.
Initially, 7 nymphs were taken into
captivity, 2 expiring before I arrived to collect them on 4 July. I ended up taking 4 of the 5 still
remaining. Within one week, 2 mantid
nymphs had deceased, each had a problem with one of their rear tarsi,
causing
difficulty in predation. A third mantis
died after its molt, reasons unknown, leaving only one healthy mantid,
“Mantis-Cindy”, to survive to maturity.
Recorded molts:
12 July (possible 2nd
molt)
26 July 14 days
7 Aug
12 days
20 Aug 13
days
31 Aug 11
days
13 Sept 13 days
26 Sept 13 days
12 Oct (final
molt), 3-inches in
length
The molting
intervals seem
obscure, with relatively long intervals in the earlier stages. This was likely due to the relatively “cold”
winter of July/Aug. The winter of
Tropical Northern Queensland reached some record lows in 2011, and was
overall
the coldest season in recent years.
Notable events:
24
Oct 2011- engaged in struggle
with mud-dauber wasp Sceliphron formosum.
1st
attempt, mantis
was stung in the ventral side of thorax and immediately released the
wasp.
2nd
attempt, now aware
of the wasp’s defense, the mantis made a 2nd grab, watched
for wasp’s
stinger, made proper adjustments on positioning its raptorial forelegs,
one
holding the wasp’s face, the other holding the center of the thorax. In this position the wasp desperately and
persistently tried to get its abdomen around the thick femur of the
mantis
coming ever so close to stinging the mantid’s face numerous times as the
mantis
proceeded to successfully rip into its thorax.
25
Oct 2011 – failed at 2 attempts
on a 2-inch locust, much credit to the mantis for actually making a 2nd
attempt, but the kicking power of the locust is tremendous!
31
Oct 2011 – easily tackled and
devoured a Yellow-banded Ichneumon wasp, Lissopimpla spp. Unlike the mud-dauber wasp, the ichneumon
wasp was unable to force any struggle from mantis.
3
Dec 2011 – fed her a wood
cricket, Epacra sp., about half her
size (see video ‘Sphodropoda mjobergi battles Epacra’). She managed to devour the cricket but not
without problems. The cricket fought
back with the hind legs and (more importantly) with its powerful jaws,
forcing
the mantis to change positions several times.
The mantis eventually had the cricket in a position where its
head was
pinned down on a protruding twig unintentionally by the mantis (and
fortunately
for the mantis). The twig acted as a
barrier and prevented the cricket from nipping at the mantid’s foreleg. You can see this (though not clearly) in the
video at about 0:40.
“Mantis-Houdini”, female
Species: Hierodula
majuscula, known as the
Australian Giant Mantis
Captured 13 Oct
2011, sitting on
a small tree about 2 meters above the ground.
She eluded me twice, climbing higher up the tree which forced me
to
climb after her. 2 escapes = Houdini
30 Oct – Final molt
Notable events:
15
Dec - Late last night I caught
a male H. majuscula which seemed to have been forced under the
lighted
shelter by the heavy rain. Initially, I
thought it was a female (hope I’m not losing my identification skills),
but was
ever so glad to realize it was a male at closer look. I
brought him home, allowed him to visually
interact with ‘Houdini’, but seemed to have no interest.
But after 10 minutes, something seemed to
have clicked as I repeatedly ‘walked’ ‘Houdini’ in the close line of
sight of
the male. The male suddenly showed
interest, and after watching ‘Houdini’ walk by her several times, he
made the
(aerial) strike with a short-distance burst of flight onto her back. This was about 5am.
As an
attempt to keep the male alive, I
continuously fed ‘Houdini’ during copulation.
She devoured two large moths and a large katydid.
The mating continued for over 8 hours until
1:30pm when the male disengaged. My plan
was to ‘help’ the male survive this mating, then re-engage in several
weeks
after the female laid her ootherca, and then release him back into the
wild. I attempted to transfer the male
into another container just in case ‘Houdini’ decided to make a meal out
of
him. I was outside at the time – big
mistake! Yes, the male flew off. I
managed to catch him mid-air on his first
escape attempt, but his efforts were relentless. He
went airborne, about 15 meters up into a
tree. Oh well, good luck and thank
you! I only hope ‘Houdini’
delivers.
“Mantis-Manute” female (long and
thin, therefore named after the late great Manute Bol)
Species: Archimantis
latistyla, known as Australian
Stick Mantid
Captured
(24 Oct 2011)
14 Nov – molt
during the day, now
decent-sized subadult 10cm (just under 4 inches)
15 Nov – photo
shows ‘Manute’
already exceeding the length of ‘Houdini’. Archimantis latislayla as a
SUBADULT has already surpassed the length of an ADULT Hierodula
majuscula, Australia’s largest mantid.
Notable
Events:
15 Nov – About 24
hours after the
molt, I attempted to feed her a young grasshopper that she would
normally have
no problem tackling. She attempted to
grab it twice and let go both times. One
of the forelegs was bleeding underneath, near the joint of the fibula
and
tibia.
21 Nov – tackled a
large moth and
began to devour as normal, but dropped the moth after only a short
period of
time. It left a hole in the thorax area
on the ventral side of the moth and still alive. Why
she dropped it is unknown. It wasn’t because of a
struggle (the moth was
no longer struggling). My only guess is
that she reached her capacity for the time being. I’ve
seen this on numerous occasions, but
typically, the mantis would hold on to the prey for long periods of time
and
take occasional bites. This case was
strange because initially she began as if she were prepared to consume
the
entire moth, then the drop came abruptly.
Also, she is not due for her final molt in at least a week.
3 Dec – It’s been a
while since
I’ve posted an update on ‘Manute’ (busy with studies). Over
the past week, I’ve been expecting her
to molt and it was nerve-racking because she took forever to do so. Well, today she finally molted, though her
condition is in question. Has she fasted
too long before the molt? Does she have
the strength to continue or will she expire after the final molt just as
Tenodera did 3 weeks ago? It remains to
be seen…
4 Dec – ‘Manute’
seems to be
regaining her strength. Hanging upside
down from the bush with legs bent instead of out-stretched as if ready
to drop
(her condition hours ago). She’s also
very alert to movement around her. As of
now, it appears that she’ll make it and the hopes of breeding in the
very near
future is still alive.
9 Dec – The past
few days,
‘Manute’ has been eating well, particularly moths. She
has issues with her rear left tarsi which
is not clinging too well. This was my
fault as I inadvertently damaged the tiny hook a couple of weeks ago
before her
final molt. This particular specimen
seems normal when hanging upside down, but when in upright position
(dorsal
side up, ventral side down), her legs don’t seem to hold her body up too
well. In other words, she would almost
drag her body walking on a table top. Is
this normal for this species? Is she
still weakened from the near-molting period?
I’ll know when I eventually have the other A.
latisyla specimens out for a ‘walk’.
20 Dec – I
attempted the pairing
of Archimantis 3 with ‘Manute’. He made
2 clumsy attempts to mount her so I decided to abort the attempt.
21 Dec – I made
another attempt
to mate the pair. This time the mounting
was a success, but copulation was not.
Initially the female seemed to be inviting him by opening her
organs,
however it became clear that she has no interest in mating, pulling away
each
time the male made an attempt to transfer sperm. It
was also just as clear that the male would
cling on to the ‘Manute’. It’s been an
all-day ‘stand-off’.
Species: Archimantis 2
(possible male)
5 Nov – I witnessed
the first
molt, and had to interfere because he was too close to the bottom; close
call,
but the molt was a success.
Compared with the
female A. latistyla, this specimen is
slightly smaller, more slender all-around and with 7 abdominal segments
(ventrally), hopes are high that this is a male (the first specimen is
definitely female, having only 6 abdominal segments).
However,
it is still possible that the two
mantids are an instar apart in maturity, and that the next molt for this
2ndA. latisyla will reveal only 6
abdominal segments. The next molt will
be critically informative. I also have
to take into consideration that they could be siblings, having been
found in
the same somewhat isolated patch of tall grass roughly 30 square-meters.
7
Nov: so far, lacking the tenacity
to go after a young locust…
Notable Events:
17
Nov – After several days of
noticing an eye defect, the mantis had seizure-like convulsions for
several
seconds and dropped to the ground (never witnessed that before). I didn’t have much hopes for him to recover,
but I left him alone hoping he’d come out of it. The
mantis, by the way, is indeed male.
18
Nov – The mantis had passed,
and when I grabbed him by the leg to remove his body from the container,
his
leg simply ripped off, followed by other parts of his body. The carcass was already being devoured from
the inside by larvae. Question: were the
larvae present before he passed???
Species: Archimantis 3 (male)
19 Nov – I’ve been
observing this
mantid for the past several weeks (see photo ‘Archimantis in the
wild’),
and after recognizing that my male (Archimantis
2) had an eye infection, I had to consider the possibility of taking
this guy
in, just in case I lose #2. Now that
I’ve lost him, I did indeed capture this male A. latistyla
as a replacement future mate for the female (#1).
Notable
Events:
20 Dec – As
mentioned, I’ve
attempted a pairing with ‘Manute’. (See
‘Mantis-Manute’)
Species:Tenodera
australasiae, known as the
Purple-winged Mantis
6 Nov 2011 – I
really need to
address this mantid which I captured a sometime in early Oct. Aside from feeding and husbandry, I’ve
neglected all other aspects of this specimen and its attributes – no
acknowledgement, not even recording the exact date of capture or exact
date of
its only molt since I’ve had her in custody.
I’ve had a certain prejudice—a particular disappointment to all Tenodera spp. because of their lack of
‘ruthlessness’ when it comes to predation.
I’ve blamed the entire Tenodera
genus around the world for giving mantids a ‘weak’ reputation by being a
(physically) large mantid species and yet consistently being the victims
of
Asian Giant Hornets (Vespa mandarinia
japonic). But
now, I’ve realized I need to give it equal
attention for the sake of learning and respect it as an existing species
in
Australia.
10
Nov – final molt
11-12
Nov – deceased
Notable
Events:
Sometime between
11-12 Nov, this
mantis expired. She was in a terribly weakened
state following her final molt. It seems
she used all her strength to complete the molt, then had nothing left. I suspect she may have fasted too long before
her final molt, but I cannot confirm that suspicion.
Due to this loss,
on 12 Nov, I
released the male Tenodera australasiae which I captured for
mating
opportunities (and one which I have not kept a journal for). He displayed excellent aerial skills weaving
between branches compared to Tenodera aridifolia sinensis, which I
recall as very clumsy in flight.
Species: Orthodera ministralis,
female
Captured 13 Nov
2011
20 Nov – just
realized her body
is falling apart. Her right rear leg is
broken off from the tibia down. Her
right 2nd leg is missing the tarsi, as well as her left
foreleg. My best guess is she’s nearing
the end of her life span. Last night,
she apparently devoured a moth her own size (judging by the remains). Typically mantids taking a large moth will
need to cling tight, not only onto the moth with their forelegs, but
also onto
the branch with the four rear legs as the moth will struggle with great
wind-force. I could only assume last night’s
struggle was enough to damage the apparently aging mantis.
