New Expo pickup, micro alien!

[Charis]

We were good at the Expo we vended this past weekend and only bought one thing, a very young female Ghost Praying mantis.
They had Orchid mantids there too, that I was super tempted by but we figured we'd just start out with a Ghost and see if we can keep her alive and thriving before jumping in headlong. Sounds like next year the vendor is going to have an amazing array of mantids to chose from, so we might really be in trouble!

Here are some macro shots of her, very hard to try and get any meaningful size perspective in these, but she could sit on my thumb nail and not reach the edges.

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4519_zps63s0dntw.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4520_zpsa9nme9d4.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4521_zpstanxwgs6.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4522_zpsrjccse4y.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4524_zpssyyorudh.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4526_zpsvgnzuyw6.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4527_zpsgsuksqtk.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4528_zpsbfnasc04.jpg

[Charis]

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4529_zpsobfjssrq.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4530_zpss9rkjoqk.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4531_zpssxdrwx81.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4532_zpszfgujexc.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4533_zpslyf1xzh2.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4534_zpsyqbnw0jy.jpg

[ManSlaughter33]

Best Picture!! Neat little dude!!

[that1guy]

Awesome mantis, I had a large Chinese Praying Mantis but it died about a week ago.

[Jim Smith]

That is indeed an awesome looking insect! Perhaps I've watched too many Sci-Fi movies, but that insect sure looks like an alien creature to me. I'm just glad that they don't grow to 12 feet long or we'd been in deep trouble. Please keep us in photos as she grows.

[millertime89]

Love Mantids, that's so cool.

[Charis]

Thanks! I'm sure we will be taking lots of pictures!

[Charis]

She molted for the first time with us awhile ago and has doubled in size. I took these pictures a few minutes ago, unfortunately they aren't quite as good as the ones my husband took just after we got her.

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4833_zpsoxwx10hf.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4834_zps6brsdlcb.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4835_zps2f8omwu3.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4837_zps3cmc2kjx.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4838_zpsbvlcpg9x.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4839_zpsrltmllpr.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4840_zpsd0gpgxid.jpg

[Charis]

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4841_zpsgarh76en.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4842_zpsacb6hn7e.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4843_zpshvmskw2y.jpg

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac238/MaidofChainz/Ghost%20Praying%20Mantis/DSC_4844_zps62onsbbm.jpg

[Minkness]

So neat! Makes me miss my mantis.

[Salty Rob]

So neat! Makes me miss my mantis.

I agree. Maybe they will have more at the next show that they do where I live.

[eminart]

Very cool little guys. We have two ghost mantids, both female. The breeder told me he'd send a pair, but that didn't happen. Anyway, they're adults now, and both have made (unfertilized) ooths. I don't expect them to live too much longer. Anyway, I think ghosts are the coolest looking mantids.

[prairiepanda]

So tiny! I love mantids. If I ever come across a M/F pair or even just a female of a parthenogenic species I'd snap it up in a heartbeat. Pretty hard to come by around here, though. And I don't really like getting individuals with no breeding potential since their lives are so short

[havoc_vulture]

The orchids are so cool, I've been tempted to get one as well. Really nice looking mantis you picked up

[IW17]

Mantids are neat. I kept some as a kid. Might be worth looking into a planted Viv. Would be a neat setup.