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Oligonicella scudderi
SCUDDER'S MANTIS
  
Special notes: A less common species found in the U.S. The Scudder's mantis has very thin, elongated and delicate looking legs. The legs are usually extended and the body of the mantis is always pretty low to the ground when the mantis is at rest. This mantis seems to not enjoy hanging from a lid as it keeps ending up on the bottom of the container so I had to place several sticks and some excelsior in there for it to be able to climb and molt properly. Doesn't seem to want to drink that much either. This species doesn't climb plastic very well, and likes to flip over off of your hand. They also seem to like to play dead.
2.24.08 Ms. scudderi is dying. Rest in peace, you old girl - you left your legacy with 14 oothecae.
2.22.08 Wooo! 10 nymphs hatched from the first ooth so it seems that one was okay with the "hot glue issue". I lost one nymph already though. Such finicky eaters they are... eating springtails at the moment.
2.18.08 Bad news hit me - someone on mantidforum said my ooths were not hatching because of the hot glue I used to secure the oothecae on the lid of a container. These oothecae are apparently very sensitive, and the eggs were killed by the hot glue even though I was careful to wait around ten seconds before sticking the ooth on. :( :( Epic fail!!
2.10.08 Another nymph hatched. Now I have two, hooray! Hopefully both are early birds. :)
2.09.08 Holy crapoly! After returning from SPC (sports tournament), I checked on the mantids and found that one nymph has hatched from one of the oothecae! Hopefully this is the early bird, not the lone survivor...
It's so tiny! It may need springtails, so while I order a culture of them, I will also go outside to scour for them and other teenies.
If I am going to have a small hatch rate of these guys, I need the best possible housing for them. If any more hatch out, they will all be housed individually to ensure success.
2.06.08 Alright, I haven't updated in a while. I sacrificed a couple of ootheca. I sold two to Rebecca, and traded two more with her in a trade for a couple of Miomantis oothecae. I also sent out two free ones to Orin, another mantis breeding expert. Hopefully scattering the oothecae to different people will boost their chances of being spread out in culture. Six oothecae gone, but I am still left with seven.
1.13.08 Ooths galore!
12.4.07 Laid her fourth ooth on 12/1.
11.24.07 Ooth number three laid! She is practically pooping ooths, literally.
11.19.07 The female laid me another ooth, this one being bigger than the last one. This is because she ate several crickets yesterday. I wonder why she didn't stop eating before laying this ooth.
11.13.07 I waited two days for the foam to dry before prying the ooth off of the corner of the KK and gluing it on the lid of a 2 oz. deli cup. Orin, a mod from mantidforum.net, says that she should produce another dozen oothecae!
11.11.07 Earlier today the little gal kept falling from her 32 oz. deli container mesh lid so I moved her into a KK. The big slits made it easier for her to get a better grip. I thought if she molted she would be better of since she could hang. Well I checked on her later. She was in the corner of the KK, and to my dismay, I found a white blob at the end of her hindquarters. She was laying... an ootheca?! I thought she was a young mantis! Apparently I thought wrong.
It will more than likely be fertile, so I will have a bunch of little O. scudderi and more generations to come if I can care for them properly. ;) Yay! I also have a video of her laying her ootheca on youtube. You can find it here and a closeup here.
11.11.07 While recording the mantis last night for a mantis video, I stupidly left the O. scudderi on its lid overnight without putting the lid back onto the container. So in the morning, the mantis was of course, gone. I literally tore apart everything to find the mantis but was unsuccessful. I was upset and frustrated. The mantis could be anywhere. It was a ground mantis so it was most likely under the dressers and other pieces of furniture, but I didn't find it. Then, when I told my mom this and told her the only place I didn't check was the bookshelf books (some books had spaces inbetween them and the mantis could be there), she found it! The little bugger was inbetween two books. If you ever keep this species and it escapes, don't look up. Look down. This is the first time a mantis has gone for the bookshelf after escaping.
11.10.07 Yen Saw, about THE most successful mantis breeder in history, told me that this mantis is a female. This is good as when she becomes an adult, I can leave her container outside and her pheromones may attract a male. Yen also says that the male of this species is attracted to bright lights at night so I will be on the lookout for the next few months. Winter is creeping in, so if I am going to find a male, I better do it fast.
11.09.07 I found this mantis on our freshman class trip while we were hiking. I smuggled the little thing back to my cabin and it lived in a plastic baggie for four days. The segments on its abdomen are hard to count, but it looks like there are only six. The antenna on this mantis are also short, and females generally have very short antennae so she probably is female. This mantis seems to enjoy hanging from sticks or staying on the ground as he keeps falling to the bottom of the container when I place her on the lid. At first I thought this mantis was a Gonatista grisea, but it looks like I misidentified it. It is a very interesting mantis and I want to breed it. However, it doesn't seem like this species is too popular as I don't seen any being bred currently or in the past. Hopefully I can find her a mate. She is somewhat fat but taking food. I gave her some d. hydei last night and she attacked them. She looks to be around L4/5 ish, as her wingbugs are not present yet.
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