Pseudoharpax virescens virescens
GAMBIAN SPOTTED EYE FLOWER MANTIS
  
Special notes: This species is prone to fungal infection so keep your cages ventilated. They are extremely aggressive and will be cannibalistic. They do not seem to like taking water so do not water them frequently. They are VERY fast runners so keep an eye on them to prevent any escapees.
2.24.08 Whew, I sold out a bunch of oothecae and kept one more for myself in case the first nymphs that hatched don't do well. Anyway, seems I had 3 losses, 2 from skittish nymphs who did not eat and 1 from cannibalism. They are currently taking D. melanogaster and by the next molt should be able to advance to hydei. Females are still laying ooths like crazy and I have a waiting list for people who are interested in the oothecae.
2.10.08 UPDATE: One of the ootheca, laid on 1/2/08, hatched out 15 nymphs!
2.10.08 Oops, I forgot to update this log. Anyway, female two matured and was successfully mated with the same male. Both females are laying oothecae like crazy: I currently have a total of 8.
12.25.07 Oh hoh hoh!
12.24.07 Female one mates with the male!
The male mounted the female in the morning and stayed on top of her for 8 hours. He kept trying to connect, but she didn't respond, and finally in the evening they managed to connect.
12.1.07 One of the female P. virescens wingbuds were getting swollen, and I knew a molt was coming. However, I thought they were subsubadult. I found that female with wings! Turns out I didn't count right. They were subadult. The two others are behind, and I need to speed the male up so he can mate with that one female who's an adult right now. I'm currently not feeding her much so her metabolism slows while his speeds up.
11.24.07 The ooth I recieved from Drizzt is not a P. virescens one, but a borealis one. Now I am solely depending on these three to make it to adulthood, though I am not too worried as they are extremely vigorous. I have developed an interest in this species and look forward to seeing them as adults.
11.22.07 I forgot to update, but all three gambians are now L5.
11.10.07 One of the female gambians molted into an L5. I can clearly see her wingbuds now. I think it is a fresh molt as her antennae are still white. I swear that my camera hates this mantis. All the pictures I have of my gambians are bad except one or two because my camera refuses to focus properly on them. ._.' They also come out as white blobs when I take a picture of them with light. Ughh. Anyway, my new L5 below. If you look in the second picture, you can see her wingbuds.
 
11.08.07
I recieved three free L2/3 nymphs from Yen Saw when I ordered my P. chlorophaea. I can confirm that I have two females and one male, as the antenna on the male are thicker and he is much less aggressive than the females. Geez Yen, way to pick a perfect combo for me so I can breed this species! The gambians are extremely aggressive and can tackle prey twice as large as they are (when L3's they could tackle small crickets). They do not seem to like drinking water as they haven't drank a drop since I recieved them. I am feeding them d. hydei and the occasional cricket. All of them are extremely fat and may molt soon. They move their antenna constantly and are easy to lose sight of as they are very fast runners and they can quickly become escapees!
I also recieved a free P. virescens ooth from my Oxypilus distinctus ooth order from Drizzt. At least, that is what he said this ooth was. It will be hatching anyday now so I will have many little gambians running around, plus I have the L4's that I currently own (I will be breeding them also).
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