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Riem the Mantis!
Only about a month an a half ago, I introduced you all to Penh the itty bitty Hierodula nymph! Now that Penh is all grown up, I felt confident enough to bring home this little girl.
She's a bashful lady. I found her scurrying on the ground, among grass and dead leaves, during a walk through a rubber plantation. Excuse my dirty fingers in the photos, I had just finished preparing the terrarium for her (lotsa dirt, and some live plants)!
I firmly suspect that she’s a Tenodera nymph of some sort and that she's an L4 or close (4th out of 8 molts/"instars") (Penh's an L5 in that first photo I linked to, above). Her wingbuds are visible, but after some searching, it would seem that the Tenoderas have visible wingbuds as early as L3! And she's muuuch too small to be a sub-adult or even a presub-adult for any Tenordera species.
I'm excited to see how Riem develops!
She's a bashful lady. I found her scurrying on the ground, among grass and dead leaves, during a walk through a rubber plantation. Excuse my dirty fingers in the photos, I had just finished preparing the terrarium for her (lotsa dirt, and some live plants)!
I firmly suspect that she’s a Tenodera nymph of some sort and that she's an L4 or close (4th out of 8 molts/"instars") (Penh's an L5 in that first photo I linked to, above). Her wingbuds are visible, but after some searching, it would seem that the Tenoderas have visible wingbuds as early as L3! And she's muuuch too small to be a sub-adult or even a presub-adult for any Tenordera species.
I'm excited to see how Riem develops!
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 600 x 1577px
File Size 758.6 kB
Listed in Folders
She's a mega cutie! She's also mega tiny!!
And here's her in her terrarium next to Penh in Penh's terrarium! You can only see their silhouettes, but it gives you an idea! lmaaoo Riem's head is even smaller than just one of Penh's eyes!
I'm excited for her to grow bigger! If I am correct on my ID, she could get to be as large (if not larger than) Penh!
And here's her in her terrarium next to Penh in Penh's terrarium! You can only see their silhouettes, but it gives you an idea! lmaaoo Riem's head is even smaller than just one of Penh's eyes!
I'm excited for her to grow bigger! If I am correct on my ID, she could get to be as large (if not larger than) Penh!
Yeah, my little cellphone camera does a good job with focus, and makes the little nymphs look much larger than they are! But when you consider the size of my fingertips in that photo (and how well you can see the friction ridges on my fingers) she's pretty bitty by mantis standards!
Meanwhile, Penh spans the width of my entire hand! (and I have large hands!!)
Meanwhile, Penh spans the width of my entire hand! (and I have large hands!!)
She certainly has an elegant, slender visage. Make no mistake, though--personality wise, Penh takes the award for most grace! Riem is a disaster master. She's hyper, clumsy, and doesn't think at all before she acts. She loves jumping. By which I don't mean "from point A to point B". I mean she loves kamikazeing from high-up places, into the air and onto...nothing at all. She just jumps aimlessly, and for absolutely no reason! She doesn't even look where she's heading, it's just *boing*! And she leaves the rest up to god (so the saying goes). I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself! She's also a *really* messy eater omg.
On the other hand, Penh is very gracious about how she sits, and where she puts her feet. She puts a lot of thought into her movement and is careful to waste no energy. She only jumps if there's a clear direction she wants to go in, with a clear landing surface in reach. Otherwise, it's a slow, methodical walk. And when she eats, she makes sure not to waste a single bite. And discards wings and shells quite delicately! She has always been this way!
It's like night and day, these two.
On the other hand, Penh is very gracious about how she sits, and where she puts her feet. She puts a lot of thought into her movement and is careful to waste no energy. She only jumps if there's a clear direction she wants to go in, with a clear landing surface in reach. Otherwise, it's a slow, methodical walk. And when she eats, she makes sure not to waste a single bite. And discards wings and shells quite delicately! She has always been this way!
It's like night and day, these two.
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