# Praying Mantis Nymph dark patches



## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

Hi all

I bought a wide armed L3 praying mantis a week ago. Last night I was trying to feed it (it won't catch food itself, I have to hold dead flies to it's mouth) and all of a sudden it went crazy, rubbing it's mouth as though in pain. This went on for hours. I left it alone and it has hung in the same place on a leaf and is still there. It's not rubbing or thrashing around anymore, but just still. It has gone from a light green colour to a bit darker and has dark patches on it's back and head. It has not moved all night which is unusual.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks, Jo.


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

Has the abdomen gone dark at all?


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

From the top it's abdomen is light, it seems to have gone lighter in the week I've had it. It has a white stripe down the centre.


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

Jomichelle said:


> From the top it's abdomen is light, it seems to have gone lighter in the week I've had it. It has a white stripe down the centre.


Sounds like necrosis has set in hun so the mantis is dying


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

Oh no  I thought it might be getting ready to molt or something, I've never had one before. What could have caused this? Is it in pain?


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

Jomichelle said:


> Oh no  I thought it might be getting ready to molt or something, I've never had one before. What could have caused this? Is it in pain?


It just seems to happen from time to time. It could be a moult are the wing buds swollen at all. Is there anyway u can get a pic at all


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

I don't have a great camera but I will try my best to get a good one. It's also developed dark stripes on it's legs. Poor little Winston


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

Okay these are the best I can get with my camera phone. It also has developed dark stripes on it's legs over the last week. It has been hanging vertical from a leaf until I disturbed it to take photos!


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## Jonb1982 (Feb 20, 2011)

Ate you sure its a wide arm mantis the pics dont make it look like one!


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

I bought it from ebay and that's what the listing said: "Cilnia humeralis * wide arm* praying mantis small nymph". Which species do you think it is?


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2011)

Looks like a wide arm to me, and from what I can tell it seems to be displaying fairly normal colouration for a nymph? What you say about feeding though does sound unusual, this species is usually a very aggressive feeder.

I'd say you shouldn't hand feed it, if its hungry it will eat. Make sure it has something to drink (give it a little spray) and plenty of ventilation and fingers crossed for the next few days.


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

Thanks for all your input. I'm really worried, I've only had it a week but I'm quite fond of it lol. I don't think I'm keeping it quiet warm enough (usually 18-21 degrees). I have a heat mat and thermostat coming tomorrow. I've been spraying it daily but I think it might be too much for this species?

With regards to feeding, it seems to panic when there are flies moving around near it. The seller told me it was eating alright when she had it, I don't get why it won't now


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Are you leaving the food in their long enough? Sometimes when you disturb mantids they don't eat right away. 

Moult maybe? the can sometimes go off food for a while, but not usually this long for a small nymph.


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

When I try feeding it I put it in a smaller tub with the pray as it's in a big terrarium and would never catch the food. I've just left him in the tub with a half dead (easy to catch) green bottle for half an hour and no luck. When the fly goes near it, it jumps away. It seems it's normal self now though, quite happily looking around and washing it's feet. It still seems scared of it's food!


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

Jomichelle said:


> When I try feeding it I put it in a smaller tub with the pray as it's in a big terrarium and would never catch the food. I've just left him in the tub with a half dead (easy to catch) green bottle for half an hour and no luck. When the fly goes near it, it jumps away. It seems it's normal self now though, quite happily looking around and washing it's feet. It still seems scared of it's food!


Maybe the food is too big? I can't judge size very well by the pic, but sometimes mantids can be scared of food that they can easily take. I always find it's the way with peacocks, they are absolute wimps until they get to about L4, then when adult they take on anything. :lol2:


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

It's the same with fruitfly  That's the only thing I've gotten it too eat and only when I put it right to it's mouth and it seems to realise the fly is food, but still grudgingly! I don't want to feed him like this though as I think I must have hurt it yesterday when I fed him.


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

Iv never seen a C.humeralis that colour usually they are bright green lol. Seems to be pretty healthy tho


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

Hi again

Well he is still alive today. Have tried in vain again to feed it fruit flies. At first he looked like he was going to go in for the kill, but changed his mind and just sat there for an hour while the fly crawled around him  Any advice? It's been 4 days since he last ate.


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

Jomichelle said:


> Hi again
> 
> Well he is still alive today. Have tried in vain again to feed it fruit flies. At first he looked like he was going to go in for the kill, but changed his mind and just sat there for an hour while the fly crawled around him  Any advice? It's been 4 days since he last ate.


Keep trying perhaps leave the FFs in with it because they arent going to damage the mantis at all


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

Well I've just returned home today to find my nymph at the bottom of the terrarium very close to death  I have no idea why, but the dark spots on him have gotten much darker and spread. I am worried I might have handled it too much or something?


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## vivalabam (Aug 8, 2010)

I highly doubt it would have been you handling that could have caused your mantis to die. We've handled some of ours lots and they have been fine. Sometimes they just don't survive, some people have luck with them, others don't!


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## Jomichelle (Sep 11, 2011)

Hi thanks for all the replies again.

After speaking to the seller I'm pretty sure it was a fungal infection caused by high humidity. Poor little guy I feel aweful  Seller is sending a replacement next week which I'm very grateful for though.


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