Do any PHers keep invertebrates?

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Hi all,

I've had a search but couldn't find anything and it's clear from posts in this section that you guys have a huge variety of pets amongst you - but they're mainly mammalian.

I've been fascinated by inverts for a long time - spiders, stick insects, butterflies etc - and this year I got my first praying mantis. He's an African Lined Mantis named Montezuma (Monty for short) and I picked him up in March after his fourth shed:



By June he looked much, much different:



Then, earlier this month I found out that Monty is in fact Monica, and had laid herself an egg sack (called an 'ootheca' or ooth):



Turns out that some species can reproduce through a process called parthenogenesis by which they replicate information from hereditary sperm cells to effectively recreate themselves. The ooth has now been moved to another tank for incubation in the hope of some lovely littl'uns in the coming months - they'll all be female if they hatch.

In my relatively short time with Monica I've learned so much about their growth, feeding habits and temperaments - they're really enigmatic creatures and the hunt / strike is awe inspiring!

So, do any of you lovely beings have invertebrates / insects / creepy crawlies to share, or am I a bit of a freak?

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That's awesome - I love hermit crabs! Heard they're quite easy to keep too, might have to venture down the crustacean route soon!

Do you have any photos of them?

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PoleDriver said:

That's a lot of invertebrates euphemisms!

Someone had to say it! Sounds like an awesome collection JasandJules.

Nightmare said:

That's brilliant - really hope you get baby mantids (mantiseses?!). Great pics too! Always quite fancied one myself but only got reptiles at the mo

Thanks - love taking photos of Monica, she's a real poser.

Amazingly, she laid another egg sac last week! So I now have two, which I hope will be fruitful and could see me the proud owner of up to 200 of the little beauties! I will keep y'all posted on progress.

Also, I'm looking to get hold of some leaf bugs this weekend - always found them utterly fascinating in their own right, and they eat privet so very easy to keep happy!

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I bought Monica as a nymph on his / her 3rd shed (they shed 7 times in total) and she cost me £10.

First or second shedded baby mantids are quite easy to look after, but it's difficult to guarantee a 100% survival rate, so I will probably keep the majority to try and see them to at least their 3rd shed before I part with them, in the hope they will reach maturity if they made it that far. At a guess I could sell nymphs for between £5-£10 each.

Interestingly, if the two egg sacs hatch, the babies will be exact clones of the mother due to the nature of their conception. Fascinating stuff (to me anyway!).

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vsonix - that's awesome, I didn't know there were scorpions in France! Fascinating things, I have a friend who keeps Emperors and he says the same thing about their hunting and eating habits! Obligatory photo I took a few weeks ago:



Are they quite difficult or time-consuming to look after? I've often thought about getting one but stuck with mantids and other typical insects.

Doesn't look like the Scott Stockwell site is up anymore, but the internet is filled with invertebrate lovers and educators these days. Still, nothing beats going to a reputable shop or specialist zoo - even just to marvel at the creatures like a 5 year old!

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creationracing - mantids are awesome! They're like little Xenomorphs from the Alien films. My female is pretty docile until you put food in with her, then she's firmly in attack mode.

I have been told the ooth is unlikely to materialise, but I just can't bring myself to discard them! Maybe my positive thoughts coupled with relevant incubation methods will breed success!?

Monica doesn't seem keen on flying - I often have her out and about in my room and she seems to prefer to scramble about, even though she flaps her wings on the odd occasion. Love her to bits but..



I have new family members! Picked up these two unreal looking leaf insects (I believe they're Phyllium philippinicus) which have totally stolen my heart. One is a sub adult female and the other is a tiny nymph on his 3rd shed (I think). Unfortunately, the littl'un has damaged back legs, but on the flipside they have the ability to regrow them after they shed so he should be fine in a few weeks tops.

I've named the female Sativa and the male Indica, after another type of leaf

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I have new little friends!

Spitting spider female


Random unknown Madagascan mantis (seriously, cannot ID this fella anywhere)


More leaf insects (Phyllium phillippinicum)


A very charismatic male ghost mantis (Phyllocraina paradoxa)


A Cameroon stick mantis (not sure the scientific name - bizarre looking thing)


A (hopefully) breeding pair of orchid mantids - male:


And female:


And lastly this spectacular thing - a nympy Devils flower mantis (Idolomantis diabolica):


It had sustained some damage to one eye before I got it but it's shedding and feeding fine - you can see the extent of the issue: