Gongylus gongyloides

ftorres · Gongylus gongyloides

Hello All,
Any one interested on Gongylus gongyloides???

Please contact me for details.

francisco

rosenkrieger

Those are cool, but I fail at mantids. =/

ftorres

Hello All,
Please read the sections in red, these are the most important.

GONGYLUS GONGYLODES
(Wandering Violin Mantis, Indian Rose Mantis)

Appearance: this has got to be one of the most bizarre mantids out there (they are my personal favorites). Its long prothorax gives it the image of a violin (hence its name). The males of this species can fly very well and possess long feathery antennas.

Sexing: Females grow up to 10 cm long while males peak at 8-9 cm. After the 3rd molt, 8 segments can be counted on the male's abdomen while 6 on the females. The males will also have a thick feathery antenna as adults with full usable wings. The females' wings will only cover ¾ of their abdomen.

Accommodation: this species of mantis require lots of extra heat. It's best to keep it around 30-40 C (86-104 F). A heat mat or a heat lamp may be used to maintain the desired temperature. Keep the temperature slightly cooler at night to lengthen the lifespan of the mantis. It is best to use a light bulb because the lamp gives off a temperature gradient that allows the mantids to choose their desired temperature. Keep humidity at a constant 40-50%.

Caging: their cage should be well ventilated with lots of twigs for the mantids to perch on. These mantises are quite large as adults and will require a large container. They are non-cannibalistic so a group of up to 10 individuals may be kept together given that there is sufficient space. A terrarium with a size of 60/60/90cm (LxWxH) is suitable for up to 10 mantids. Single mantids can be held in a 20/20/25cm tank. They will need a screen lid to perch on to catch their prey.

Feeding: this species will only eat flying insects. Start out with fruit flies for nymphs and move to house flies and moths for larger nymphs and adults. Stay away from crickets. Crickets are high in proteins and this species will not be able to make oothecas with a cricket diet. Even though they are voracious and will attack anything, do not offer them poisonous insects or wasps or bees as these could seriously harm the mantis. These do not need any further coaxing to eat. If they are hungry and they see something buzzing around them, they will pluck it from the air and proceed to eat it. Feed them as much as it will eat in one day and do not feed it for another 2 days. Watch their abdomen, if it is hugely inflated, then stop feeding them.

As for watering, Gongylus mantids will rarely need water. They are from the hot arid desert of India where it rarely rains.

Molting: a mantis will stop eating a few days prior to its molt. Mantises molt about every 2 weeks as babies and the time in between each molt increases as they get older…so their last molt into adulthood can sometimes take as long as 3-4 weeks. It takes about 7 molts for females and about 6 for males. That's why males tend to mature earlier than females and they also die faster. To pair up a pair of male and female, speed up the growth rate of the females while slowing down the males' with cooler temperature and less feedings…once the female has molted, speed up the male's growth to molt him out. During molting, it is vital that you do not disturb them and also make sure that the humidity is at a safe level…the suggested level is fine. The mantis will hang upside down from a branch or the screen lid and will sometimes shake or spasm violently. Then after a while, it worms out of its old skin and will hang out to dry. Once it's dried, it will resume eating and being its normal self.

Reproduction: this species can be easy to breed. After 2 weeks since their last molt, introduce the female into the male's enclosure near him. Or if they have been raised in a colony, they will mate when they are ready. It could take hours before the male does anything though. He will jump on her back as soon as he feels safe. After a while of holding on (this could take from hours to days), the male will bend his abdomen down to connect with hers and mating will commence.

Ootheca: after two weeks or so, the females will be laying her oothecae (plural for ootheca). This species can lay around 6-15 oothecae. Remove the females from the oothecas or the oothecae from the females afterward. After 4-6 weeks of incubation at 30-35 C (86-95 F) and 40-50% humidity with an everyday light misting of warm water, 15-30 nymphs will hatch out. These can be fed on fruit flies a day or two after hatching. Then continue to care for them as this care sheet suggests

WBurke17

Those are very cool looking...

balam

Me wants some.
can you PM me the price?

Celeste

...now we just need a good source for house flies... I'm assuming we shouldn't feed wild-caught prey (because of possible parasites and diseases)?

Can they tolerate *higher* humidity? My reptile room is about 50-65%. If not, I'd have to set them up with a heating pad and heat lamp in another part of the house.

ftorres

Hello All,
The ones available are spoken for now.

More soon.

@Celeste, yes you cn keep them a little bit more humid.
Just make sure the cage is well ventilated, preferably a chameleon cage, or a butterfly cage (all Screen).
If you have a light for them the humidity will be less, except at night time when is off, unless you keep a night light on.

As far as fly we can conbine orders for house fly puppae as well as blubottle fly puppae.
I would not advise to feed WC house flies, unless you breed them and feed their 1st generation. If you want to breed them, they will have to be fed fruits only, NO MEAT!!!

@Oscar, pm send

@Warren, indeed these are really cool and also the second best looking mantid in the hobby. The first one is Idolomantis diabolicum in my opinion.

MUD

***Off Topic****

Just looked up Idolomantis diabolicum and it looks awesome!!! Love the name too. Anyone got any?

ftorres

Gil,
I had it before, the most amazing mantids I ever had.

This particular specie is difficult to culture.

It has been in the hobby for at least 3 years and there are only very few people with them.

regards

francisco

ftorres

Hello All,
8 more Gongylus available @ $25

let me know

balam

are we ordering flies as a group???

I need some Rolling Eyes

OR

ftorres

Hello Oscar,
right now they should be eating fruit flies.

francisco

What

Francisco, any chance of having a female reserved for me? I can pick it up at the next event or something. Smile

ftorres

HEllo Kev,
Did you sex yours already?

these are kind of small to be sexed. I will take them the the show in las Vegas but I have a group of them reserved as my breeders already.

What

I took some photos and there are 8 segments that I can see...

Clicky

I *think* this one is a 3rd instar, but you would know better than I would. If you would like me to stop by sometime in the next couple weeks to take photos of them for you, just let me know. Smile

Celeste

Great photo, Kevin! I'll have to see if I can count segments on mine (several of them have molted already).

ftorres

Hello Kev,
You are right, you took the biggest, so it is a 3rd instar.

I will try to sex some females. and I will save one for you.

Celeste, try counting the spines protuding from each segment, females have 5 males 6 (look at Kevin's pic)

regards

francisco.

ftorres

Hello All,
Celeste and Oscar,
here are some links of places where we can order our flies and our blue bottle flies for our Gongylus.

Bulk orders large quantities of Blue bottles for subadults and adult mantis
http://www.forkedtreeranch.com/Fliesprice.html

Oscar this place also sells true spider and venom, you will like this
http://www.shopspiderpharm.com/se...ategories?category=Feeder+Insects

I ordered from Spiderpharm I ordered 100 grams.

regards

francisco

balam

I'm in love

What

My male molted out to 4i yesterday Shocked

WBurke17

WOW that is Kool!!

ftorres

Hello All,
A few more Violin available for sale.
let me know.

Also

P afinis
P walhbergi

francisco

balam