Popa spurca (African twig mantis) ootheca & grown on nymphs

A few weeks ago I had a couple of Popa spurca (African twig mantis) ootheca hatch out, which had good hatch numbers, between 40 and 50 each. This species has always fascinated me in the fact it’s sort of in between a stick insect and a mantis – and quite a ferocious one at that.

They have grown on nicely, now at L5, and continue to pose their best “twig” positions when startled. I’ve got 20 at L5, so hopefully should have a good number of adults for some breeding stock.

Here was the ootheca (the 3 on the far right):

And then an L3 nymph:

And an L4 nymph:

Categorised in: Blog

7 years ago