Assassin bug Psytalla horrida molting

[KaroKoenig]

Just caught one of my juvenile Psytalla horrida mid-molt. Always fascinating how brilliantly orange-red the freshly molted specimens are, so I thought I might share some pictures:

First observation:


Different perspective:


Somewhat more close:


Some 15 minutes later, the freshly molted Psytalla strolled into hiding in one of the cork bar rounds:


At this point, the back of the abdomen already started changing colour to dark. So much fun to watch when they do it right in the open in bright light.

@BoyFromLA : Hope you like this little series . I'm still watching your diary thread.

 

[Matts inverts]

I always find the molts but never witness any inverts molting.

 

[BoyFromLA]

I love their freshly molted color, and I sometimes wish that would have been the their original coloration.

 

[KaroKoenig]

I love their freshly molted color, and I sometimes wish that would have been the their original coloration.

I can relate to that. It is indeed striking. But on the other hand, their usual "Darth Maul" colour scheme is something to behold, too.

 

[RoachCoach]

Their freshly molted color is cripplingly beautiful. I call them hanging candy corns.

 

[KaroKoenig]

Their freshly molted color is cripplingly beautiful. I call them hanging candy corns.

Bon appetit. Tell me later how it tasted.

 

[Susy]

Hi, I recently got three subadult Horridas and am keeping them on the dry side - misting their enclosure two to three times a week. Unfortunately two of the guys died during molting Could somebody please give me some advice on why this may have happened?