Updates
(01-06-2008) Happy New Year 2008!! I am late i know ;P Over the last few weeks. I have starting to pair up several species like
ghost, orchid, lichen, Arizona unicorn, Paraguay unicorn, etc and some have started to produce oothecae, looks like another busy
2008 spring on the way!! Some other good news are that the giant devil flower continue to mature, and females of both empusa and
banded flower mantis catching up. As usual, not all good things stay forever (which i will explain why probably 3-4 months later), i
have dropped Asian giant mantis, shield mantis, and Taiwan flower mantis, and soon to drop Texas unicorn too :(( so without
further adieu, catch up with the latest status here in mantis log.
(01-13-2008) Howdy all!! I haven't been spending much time on mantis recently due to busy schedule at home and work. Colder
weather around this last week also slow down much development on my mantis culture, but i took time this Saturday to visit
Texas A&M (TAMU) insect collection display. You can see some mantis display here. I love the way they labeled each insect, with
proper bar code, method of catching, GPS location, etc. With 2.3 million insect specimen, this university properly possessed one
of the best insect collection in Texas, although i might challenge few specimens with doubtful identification. As usual, see mantis
log for who's who and what's what updated log. Bye for now!!
(01-20-2008) Brrrrr, cold cold weather hit Texas, at 30s-40s, it is probably the coldest week, but i am sure people from Michigan
or Montana will be laughing at us... oh what a sissy, never seen anything below zero. Well i am glad we haven't!! Ootheca
production slow down, believe i "only" have one S. prestiosa ootheca, two Arizona unicorn mantis oothecae, one ghost mantis
ooth, and 1 more Zoolea ooth deposited over the week. However, i continue to brew one fruit fly culture every 4-5 day just in case.
Surely i will be overran by hatchling one day if every single ootheca hatch out plenty. Continue to follow the mantis log for the
update.
(01-27-2008) Have been travelling around due to work, so time spending on mantis been greatly reduced, am i starting to lose
interest on mantis?! hopefully not! But the truth is i hardly have time to join discussion in the forum nowadays, barely have time to
reply OM. Cooler weather continue, but it starting to warm up today, we can even see 70F this afternoon!! However, more
oothecae starting to hatch, Texas unicorn, spiny flower mantis, and a new species newly traded, Idolomorpha lateralis. With
warmer weather, more ootheca from other species will hopefully hatch soon. Luckily i have plenty of fruit flies ready. Please also
check banded flower mantis and other species on mantis log for more update. Also i have updated more photos in the photo
gallery.
Edit (01/28/08): Finally one of my Empusa fasciata female matured into adult!
(02-03-2008) Is Superbowl Sunday!! So is it going to be the undefeated NE Patriot winning the superbowl or a NY Giant upset? I will
be on my seat tonight watching, if i can finish taking care of all the hatchling emerging this week before the game start. Due to the
warmer weather and higher humidity, ton of P. ocellata and Phyllovates chlorophaea hatched out, sometimes i have to ask
myself if these are the only two species that would hatch out for me, hmmm... i really hope more species will hatch in the coming
week. Surely thing hasn't been working out my way for me to source more time for my mantis. Work around the house and office
is coming to affect my time with mantis. Even shopping for a car took half a day for me (yeah i have been looking for a brand new
Toyota Sequoia) boy i need 48 hr a day!
More update on photo section.
9-23-08: More than a week has passed since Ike wreck havoc in this city. Finally my son is going back to school after a long
“break”, while the insurance adjustor managed to drop by my house to assess the damage. Despite the storm which damaged
part of the ceiling of my bug room, mantis are doing well and thriving. I received quite a few Carolina mantis from a friend in MO
(thanks Shelly!) and also couple collected here in Houston. Also a few other oothecae hatched out for the past few days. Namely
the Creobroter pictipennis, Hestiasula brunneriana, Thesprotia graminis, and the ootheca collected in Tucson too! Also see
updates on Hierodula membranacea, Hierodula patellifera, Creobroter gemmatus, Pseudoharpax virescens, Acromantis
formosana, Gonatista grisea, and Statilia maculata.
Edit: I have been told that my webpage was not updated for a long time since August 15th update. I went back to my webpage and
realized I has been updating the page without uploading it to the website. Pardon my mistake, I have been too distracted by the storm
and busy schedule.
