Manris colors -Gonodactylus?

[slylie]

My LFS has a mantis that is like a brownish-white colour, but its only about 1". Are young mantis's sometimes this ugly colour before becoming brightly coloured?

Basically, I'm desperate for a mantis and I'm wondering if I will be stuck with a brown mantis or if it will get more colourfull as it grows.

 

[kennerd]

Hang tight and I am sure someone will come along with a better answer, but my small gon. smasher was an olive green and after a few molts, is now lollipop green with turqoise highlughts.

Also: pop your location in your profile. You might find someone in your area with one. If you're near me, you might become the happy owner of my little buddy: want to break down his little tank/.

 

[ahel]

hey sly get in the chat

 

[Gonodactylus]

THere are over 500 species of stomatopod and most do not change color to any great degree once they have settled from the plankton. Exceptions are some gonodactylids that can go from green to brown to brick or P. ciliata which can take a great variety of colors and patterns.

I guess is that you are looking at a small hitchhiking Neogonodactylus wennerae. It could change to green if you keep it in bright white light with some green algae, but this is only a possibility.

Roy

 

[slylie]

damn. I was hoping you would say it turns fire engine red with blue polka-dots and zebra stripes.


hmmm... whats the max size of that species?

 

[Gonodactylus]

6 to 7 cm in 5 or 6 years.

Roy

 

[duckhuntboy]

Roy identified my mantis (thanks Roy) as a Neogonodactylus wennerae.... It changed from brown to totally lime green, the exact shade of the plastic plant it plays in. It's really cool stuff.