15/05/2023
Just posting as we haven't done so in a while.. The photos show a bit of a sidetrack away from tarantulas.
Still quite interesting, and something you may pick up from one of the shows ( exhibition, imminent / - next month I think)..
Deroplatys desiccata - the giant Dead Leaf mantis from SE Asia. Here it is pictured out and about on a plant.
He or she was out of the jar for just a day, after a couple of meals of a garden-captured small fly and 2 smallish medium silent crickets.
I check regularly, as you should, but my mantis isn't one for moving off the plant.
* Also, just to note that the Begonia maculata (spotted Begonia) plant is artificial. I intentionally bought an artificial one as I wanted it to be easy to keep and clean. I have real garden plants, though only like the prickly ones โบ๏ธ in the house. Also the real Begonia maculata does best in kitchens or bathrooms (humid), whereas mine, (artificial), is in the spare bedroom or living room. ** I later discovered that the real ones are toxic to animals, including humans (and pets) - if ingested, so better really to have an artificial one.. The 2 mantids I have kept never chewed on plants, but I have seen crickets nibbling plants.
So better - artificial - especially if you have children or other pets !!
The mantis should grow a bit larger than the last mantis I kept (Deroplatys lobata). D desiccata should reach about 8-9cm..
๐คInteresting, and a bit more "owner-aware", and generally less expensive than most currently available T's ๐๐ผ๐ค .
