NEWS102
45
The female’s camouflage in this
Dendrobium
orchid isperfect.
Male imagoof
Hymenopuscoronatus
.Males arebrownish in color and considerably smaller than females.
As stated, things are different inmantids.
The larvae have to molt regularly as the
chitinousarmor thatencases themcannot
grow. The new armor is soft and
expandable only immediately after
molting and the larvae can grow only
during the fewhours aftermolting.
The Orchid Mantis produces a so-called
ootheca,amassof froth inwhich theeggs
are embedded. The forth hardens a short
time after it is produced and the ootheca
then looks like apieceof foam insulation.
The larvaehatch from theoothecaafter6-
8 weeks. In the terrarium it is very
important to incubate the ootheca at 25-
30 °Canda relativehumidityof70-90%,as
otherwise the larvaewon’t hatch.
The freshly-hatched larvae (= L1, ie “larva
1”; the larvae of mantids are also termed
nymphs) areverydifferent incoloration to
the parents, specifically they are red and
black in color. They thus imitate ants and
this mimicry (the technical term) allows
them to evade predators. But by the L2
the coloration is pink andwhite, and the
larvanow seeks out orchid flowers,where
it is incrediblywell camouflaged.
Hymenopus coronatus
goes through a
total of eight molts before becoming the
adult,sexuallymature insect (= the imago,
plural imagines). At least, the females do.
OrchidMantismales remain considerably
smaller and are full grown after just five
molts.
They are sexually mature
correspondinglyearlier,makingabrother-
sister mating virtually impossible in the
wild. In the terrarium, however, the
situation can bemanipulated by keeping
themales (for sex differences seephotos)
cooler -at22-24 °C - from theL4stageand
continuing tomaintain the females at 25-
30 °C. Because themales live 2-3months
as imagines it is then possible to mate
them with their sisters. The majority of
breedersadviseagainst this,however,and
prefer males from a subsequent clutch.
Female imagines live for 6-9months and,
once successfully inseminated,produce4-
5oothecaeat intervalsof 2-4weeks.
Cannibals?!
Because adult females are considerably
larger than males, they generally regard
male conspecifics as prey. But overall
Hymenopuscoronatus
prefers significantly
smallerwinged insects,and for this reason
specimensof thesamesize (egsiblingsup
toL4) canbekept togetheras longas they
are well fed. But exceptions are
nevertheless always possible. During
mating the male escapes the voracity of
