Saxing mantids - Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii

[danfekar]

Sexing mantids - Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii

Yesterday my only mantid moulted into maturity. I'm planning on buying a mate for him/her as soon as I know which sex it is

Counting the segments on the abdomen is not really working for me, not on this species anyhow; it has so many spikes and lobes that I'm having a hard time telling the segments apart. I've heard that there are several other ways to tell the sex with this species....something about the sidelobe protruding out from underneath the wings, something about the shoulderlobes being wider than the head etc.

Is it possible for anyone to sex this specimen from the pictures I've included?

It measures 4,5 cm from head to tip of the wings.

I'm in a hurry to buy a mate for it

Regards
Dan Johannesen

 

[Alex S.]

Im definetely no mantid expert, but just looking at the build of the mantid's body it looks like a female. That said, I really just wanted to comment on how nice those pictures are!!!

Alex S.

 

[Navaros]

Those pics are excellent. I am saying female because of how far the side lobes protrude from the body, past the wings.

 

[heyjeyniceid]

offtopic, but for the photos how or where do you find totally black backgrounds like that that do not reflect light?

 

[danfekar]

offtopic, but for the photos how or where do you find totally black backgrounds like that that do not reflect light?

I have to admit that there is quite a bit of cheating involved in those particular photos :8o

I've used a primitive "bluscreen" in means of a brightly blue-colored sheet as the background. With the use of some masking and the hue/saturation-tool in photoshop I've removed the blue color and replaced it with dark grey/black.

regards
Dan J

 

[Navaros]

Great idea. Those pics look incredible.