Small white dots on ghost mantis face

Ratmosphere

Arachnoking
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Aug 23, 2015
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2,294
Was fooling around with my new macro lens and noticed a few small, white dots on the face of my ghost mantis. Could these be mites? Let me know.

FullSizeRender.jpg
 

GingerC

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Messages
117
I think they might just be simple eyes, but I don't really know for sure. Other close-ups of ghost mantids show a few white dots here and there, so they might just be markings.
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
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Jan 12, 2016
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3,686
If the dots move, they're mites. You can try rubbing them off with a qtip dipped in lukewarm water.
You are talking about the dots near the base of the feelers?
 

Salmon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 25, 2017
Messages
46
Mantids have unique eye structures, and usually have 3 simple eyes in a triangular formation in the middle of their foreheads.


The dots on your mantis's face did give me the shivers at first, but then I looked it up and it turns out a ghost mantis's simple eyes are weird and disk shaped and have a disturbing resemblance to huge ticks on the poor thing's face.

 

Andrea82

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Jan 12, 2016
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Holy cow! Those are EYES? :rofl:
I didn't know that...my knowledge of mantis is severely lacking. :embarrassed:
 

Andrea82

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Jan 12, 2016
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Yes. You can see them quite clearly on mantids.





I've seen the dots, yes. Just thought it was part of their exoskeleton, like the leaf-like protrusions on P.paradoxa or the orchid-like camouflage on a H.coronatus. :D
I'm not really into mantids anymore, I had them for a year or so, but they die so quickly. I only have my P.paradoxa female. I tried to breed her, but she ate the male.
I decided I liked Theraphosidae better. :smug:
 

basin79

ArachnoGod
Active Member
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Sep 14, 2013
Messages
5,893
I've seen the dots, yes. Just thought it was part of their exoskeleton, like the leaf-like protrusions on P.paradoxa or the orchid-like camouflage on a H.coronatus. :D
I'm not really into mantids anymore, I had them for a year or so, but they die so quickly. I only have my P.paradoxa female. I tried to breed her, but she ate the male.
I decided I liked Theraphosidae better. :smug:
It's heart breaking when they die. Obviously to them it's an entire lifetime but to humans it's around 12 short months.
 
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